The State Pension is a source of concern for a lot of Britons. Because at £12,547.60 a year – assuming you qualify for the full payout – it’s not a lot of money.

The good news is that there are plenty of ways to generate additional retirement income with a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP). Here are some SIPP strategies that could potentially deliver the same amount of annual income as the State Pension.

Income-focused ETFs

One of the easiest ways to generate income in a SIPP is to buy an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that’s focused on dividend stocks. This kind of product will diversify your capital over many different companies and pay out regular cash distributions.

One example of such an ETF that could be worth considering is the WisdomTree Europe High Dividend UCITS ETF (LSE: EEI). This invests in the highest dividend-yielding European companies (including UK firms) but takes business quality, ESG credentials, and share price momentum into consideration when selecting those for the portfolio.

At present, this product sports a yield of around 4.7%. Assuming the yield was to remain at this level, an investor would need about £275,000 in the ETF to generate the same amount of income as the State Pension is paying.

It’s worth pointing out that there’s potential for share price gains here too. There’s also potential for losses though – if the European and/or UK markets tank, performance is likely to be disappointing.

REITs

Another effective income strategy is investing in real estate investment trusts (REITs). Often overlooked by private investors, these are publicly-traded investment companies that own or finance property portfolios.

One REIT I’m a fan of is Primary Health Properties, which invests in healthcare facilities across the UK and Ireland. It currently offers a yield of around 7.7%, so it could be worth a closer look.

Another one I like is Tritax Big Box, which is focused on large e-commerce warehouses. This offers a yield of around 5.3%, so again it could be worth checking out.

Now REITs can also be risky – operational challenges and interest rates can impact returns. However, it wouldn’t be too hard to build a REIT portfolio yielding 6% today and at this yield an investor would only need about £210,000 to match the State Pension’s income.

Please note that tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future. The content in this article is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to be, neither does it constitute, any form of tax advice. Readers are responsible for carrying out their own due diligence and for obtaining professional advice before making any investment decisions.

Individual dividend stocks

Finally, investing in regular dividend stocks is another great strategy. On the London Stock Exchange today, there are tons of these stocks and many offer brilliant yields. They all have risks, of course. However, by putting together a portfolio of 15-20 different stocks, investors can reduce company-specific risk dramatically.

One stock that’s looking increasingly interesting to me – and could be worthy of further research – is insurance company Aviva. It sports a dividend yield of around 5.8% at the moment.

Another stock that could be worth a look from an income investing perspective is Domino’s Pizza. The yield here is about 5.9%.

As an example of this strategy in action, let’s say that an investor bought 15 different dividend stocks and built a portfolio with an average yield of 6.5%. In this scenario, they’d only need about £193,000 to generate annual income of £12,548.

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Edward Sheldon owns shares in London Stock Exchange Group.