Pensions

Pre-retirement

Personal Pensions/PRSAs - This is the type of pension most suitable for people who are self-employed or in employment where there is no company sponsored pension scheme. Advice is needed on the level of income one can expect at retirement, on the limits one can pay into such a pension and on tax relief available on premiums.

Company pensions – This is the type of pension where the employer is prepared to pay some or all of the contributions for an employee. Advice is needed here in relation to the tax implications of these payments for the employer and the employee.

Retirement Bonds or Buy-Out-Bonds – This is a very important area in modern day pension planning. It’s normally a good idea to transfer one’s company pension to a Personal Retirement Bond (PRB) after one leaves an employment. This allows one to transfer the pension away from the company into one’s own name. In many cases a person can access funds from a PRB at age 50. A lot of people nowadays would have pension benefits from numerous different sources by the time they get to retirement age. Professional advice is essential in this area.

Post-retirement

Approved Retirement Funds (ARFs) and Annuities – Old fashioned annuities are no longer suitable to everyone due in the main to extremely low interest rates, so ongoing advice on Approved Retirement Funds is needed post retirement.

See Retirement Drawdown Calculator. Zurich Retirement Drawdown Calculator