If you had more than 15 years service in the scheme, your only option now is to transfer to a Buy Out Bond (a.k.a. Personal Retirement Bond). This is a lump sum pension product of your choosing - your money is invested in a fund you choose. When you retire (any time from age 50 onwards), the options are the same as they were in the original scheme. Unless you were a director of the company, the options are tax-free lump sum and annuity (guaranteed fixed pension for life).
If you have less than 15 years service in the scheme you can transfer to a Buy Out Bond or a PRSA. The PRSA offers the ability to make further contributions and an additional option at retirement, i.e. the Approved Retirement Fund or ARF.
You can choose any provider or fund(s) for your Buy Out Bond or PRSA - the choice of fund will be determined largely by your appetite for risk.
As with any investment or pension product, be aware of charges, up-front and ongoing. A transfer into a PRSA should attract no up-front charges and the annual fund management charge should be no more than 1% unless you have a specific requirement for a specialised fund. If you shop around, you should also be able to purchase a Buy Out Bond with no up-front charges and an ongoing annual fund management charge of around 0.65% - 0.75%.
I wrote a piece on some of these issues a few months back - see [broken link removed].
If your intention is to improve both your pension and lump sum from your Defined Benefit scheme (current employment) at retirement, buying back years is usually the better option as it's guaranteed, although it can be costly and there may be a limit on how many years you'll be allowed to buy back.
Liam D. Ferguson