Advice needed: How to allocate 45k cash built up in Company Pension Plan?

[Chuckey]

Hi All,
I'm not too good on pensions, so bear with me, and hopefully someone here has some suggestions.
I'm looking for some advice on what funds to invest in for my Company Pension Plan.
Its a Defined Contribution plan. The Company contribute 8% and I contribute 2%. In addition, I make AVC contributions of 20% monthly.
The plan is managed by Invesco.

Basically, I have built up around 45k in my company's Pension Plan, from a transfer-in from an older plan and monthly contributions.
The money was invested in the ILIM Cash Fund PC2 throughout the last 4 years, and so avoided the big pension value drops experienced by many people.
I also missed out on the growth that riskier equity based funds were exhibiting over the past 18 months.
I am now thinking of allocating this 45k and future contributions to some of the other funds that are available to me,
as I know that the growth on the Cash Fund is low and will not really even keep up with inflation over the long term.

The Funds that are available to me are as follows:
Irish Life Easy Steps Safety
Irish Life Easy Steps Cautious Fund
Irish Life Easy Steps Moderate Fund
Irish Life Easy Steps Growth Fund
Irish Life Easy Steps Maximum Growth Fund
Zurich Eagle Star Balanced Fund
Zurich Eagle Star 5*5 Global Fund
Irish Life Pension Cash Fund S2

I am allowed to divide up my funds among all of these Funds if I wish.
I am also allowed to amend the allocation as often as I like online, but I normally don't monitor these funds daily or weekly - but rather quarterly or half yearly.
I am 35 and am not averse to some risk, though I would like to keep as much of this 45k intact as possible.
If anyone needs more details that are relevant, please let me know.

Can someone suggest a sensible allocation of existing and future allocations, and maybe give the reasoning behind it??

Thanks in advance.

 

[Chuckey]

Anyone have ony suggestions?

C.

 

[aristotle]

Impossible to really give you an accurate answer without knowing the details behind the funds and also its only yourself who can decide what level of risk you want to take. Perhaps talk to Irish Life and Zurich to get more info on the funds.

 

[rgfuller]

I can't comment on a pension investment allocation but I would suggest that you are overpaying avc's being 35 you are only permitted 20% tax free and you appear to be contributing 22% which means you are possibly paying tax the 2%. Here are the limits:

Age Limits
Up to 30 years of age 15% of net relevant earnings
30 up to 40 years of age 20% of net relevant earnings
40 up to 50 years of age 25% of net relevant earnings
50 years plus 30% of net relevant earnings
​

The overall existing maximum pensions benefit rules will continue to apply.
Revenue Limit on AVCs

For tax relief purposes, an employee's total pension contributions cannot exceed the limits as set out above, in any year. This is inclusive of any ordinary contributions made, subject to the following conditions:

• The additional benefits secured by AVCs, when added to the benefits of the main scheme, must be within the approval limits set by the Revenue Commissioners.
• No more than 5/6 of the member's total benefits from all pension schemes of the employer may have been paid for by the member.

http://www.finfacts.ie/fincentre/avcs.htm