The Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is a monthly retirement taxable benefit. While the average age to begin the payment is 65, you can start receiving the payment at the age of 60 or delay it until you reach 70.
The amount of your CPP payout depends on several factors, such as the age at which you start your pension, the length of your retirement contributions, and the average earnings throughout your working life.
In 2024, the average monthly CPP payment for a 65-year-old retiree stands at $831.92, while the maximum monthly payment is higher at $1,364.60. We can see that its not advisable to depend just on the CPP to lead a comfortable life in retirement.
Instead, it makes sense to supplement these payments with other sources of passive income. One low-cost strategy to begin a passive-income stream is to invest in blue-chip dividend stocks. Here are two such TSX stocks you can buy to supplement your CPP payments in 2024 and beyond.
Telus stock
Telus (TSX:T) is among the largest telecom companies in Canada, valued at $32 billion by market cap. It pays shareholders an annual dividend of $1.56 per share, translating to a forward yield of over 7%.
Telis stated that its focus on margin-accretive customer growth and a widening broadband network allowed it to end the first quarter (Q1) of 2024 with 209,000 customer net additions, up 28% year over year. Its industry-beating growth reflects its strong execution and customer loyalty across key product lines.
In Q1, Telus achieved EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) growth of 4.3% and margin expansion of 170 basis points. The growth story for Telus is far from over, given that it has allocated $2.6 billion towards capital expenditures this year and is forecast to end 2024 with a free cash flow of $2.3 billion.
Analysts tracking Telus stock expect adjusted earnings to expand from $0.95 per share in 2023 to $1.03 per share in 2024 and $1.16 per share in 2025. So, priced at 22 times forward earnings, Telus stock is not too expensive and trades at a discount of more than 10% to consensus price target estimates.
Quebecor stock
Quebecor (TSX:QBR.B) is a Canada-based company that operates in segments such as telecommunications, entertainment, news, and media. It pays shareholders an annual dividend of $1.30 per share, indicating a yield of 4.4%.
In the past decade, Quebecor has raised its dividends by more than 30% annually, significantly enhancing the effective yield. Since June 2014, the TSX dividend stock has returned more than 160% to shareholders after adjusting for dividends.
In Q1 of 2024, Quebecor grew sales by 22.2%, adjusted EBITDA by 26.4%, and cash flows from operations by 21.1%, despite a challenging macro environment.
Quebecor attributed its stellar Q1 results to the financial leverage derived from the Freedom acquisition. It reduced net debt by $140 million in Q1 and ended the quarter with a net-debt-to-EBITDA ratio of 3.31 times, which is the lowest in the Canadian telecom industry.
Priced at 9.2 times forward earnings, Quebecor stock is cheap and trades at a discount of more than 30% to price target estimates.
