Making extra money on top of a salary or pension sounds great in theory. But many passive income schemes require a lot of time and effort just to get started.

Investing in shares that pay dividends is one exception. Sure, that cash can never be guaranteed and putting money to work in the market involves more risk than earning interest in a savings account. Even so, it technically requires nothing more than buying and holding a stake in a company.

With this in mind, here are three big stocks to ponder buying to begin earning passive income in 2026.

Sky-high yield

FTSE 100 retirement product provider, asset manager, and insurance giant Legal & General (LSE: LGEN) feels like an easy option for a starter portfolio. It’s an established business that generates fairly stable operating profits.

From an income perspective, the company has been particularly reliable when it comes to returning more cash to investors every (or nearly every) year. The 8.6% dividend yield is also among the highest you can get within the top-tier index and almost three times the average.

Clearly, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Next year’s payout is expected to only just be covered by profit. The longer this goes on, the more vulnerable dividends look, especially if earnings weaken. The latter could be the result of increased competition for clients, for example.

But this is exactly why it’s not my only pick.

Predictable passive income

National Grid (LSE: NG) might seem a strange choice as another potential core holding. After all, it announced a 20% ‘rebasing’ to its dividend in FY2025. However, this move was part of the company’s plan to pay for transitioning to cleaner energy networks rather than the result of a slowdown in earnings.

At the time, investors were horrified. But now the dust has settled, the share price has recovered.

The Grid’s dividend yield stands at 4.2% — nowhere near that of Legal & General. But the point is that it’s a very different business in a very different sector. This should make it less likely that an investor will see their entire income stream implode if one encounters difficulties.

The capital-intensive nature of what it does and vulnerability to regulation will always place a limit on dividend growth. But I think these are prices worth paying.

Defensive dividends

Completing the trio of ‘starter’ passive income stocks — and adding even more diversification — is vaccine specialist GSK (LSE: GSK).

Its shares have charged upwards in 2025 with a gain of almost 33%. That’s a significant outperformance of the FTSE 100 index as a whole. The latter has managed ‘just’ 20% or so — which is actually remarkably good in itself.

While a rising share price tends to bring a yield down, GSK’s still stands at a forecast 3.9% for 2026. The firm’s defensive credentials — healthcare is needed regardless of what an economy is doing, especially as populations age — should mean that payouts continue growing in the future.

That said, I reckon that growth will be modest rather than spectacular. We know that drug development is a costly process, often beset with setbacks and delays. Higher research and development spending means less money for dividends.

Becoming overly-reliant on a few ‘blockbusters’ for earnings in the interim is another danger to be aware of.