It certainly has been a difficult year for income investors. The cash rate is at a record low of 0.25% and many of the most popular dividend shares have either deferred or cancelled their dividends.
The good news is that despite this, it is still possible to earn a decent income this year on the share market.
This is thanks to a number of dividend-paying companies that are well-placed to continue their growth in 2020 despite the pandemic.
Two safe dividend shares I would buy today for income are listed below:
Dicker Data Ltd (ASX: DDR)
The first dividend share to consider buying right now is Dicker Data. I've been very impressed with the way the company has continued to perform strongly this year despite the pandemic. Last month it revealed that its first quarter profits grew 36.3% on the prior corresponding period to $18.4 million. This was driven partly by increasing demand for working at home software and hardware. The company also revealed plans to increase its fully franked dividend by 31% to 35.5 cents per share in FY 2020. This represents a 5% fully franked dividend yield which will be paid in quarterly instalments.
Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)
Another good option for income investors could be this agriculture-focused property group. Rural Funds owns a large number of assets across several agricultural industries. These assets are of a high quality and are tenanted on long term agreements by many of the largest food producers in Australia. In light of this, I believe Rural Funds is well-positioned to continue growing its distribution at a consistently solid rate for a long time to come. In FY 2021 the company intends to lift its distribution to 11.28 cents per share. This works out to be a forward 5.9% distribution yield.
