Moneymakeover Pension Scheme Advice

M

moore82

Registered User
Messages
24
Age:

41

Spouse’s/Partner's age:

41

Annual gross income from employment or profession:

79k

Annual gross income of spouse:

45k

Monthly take-home pay:

4300

Type of employment:

Private sector

In general are you:
(a) spending more than you earn, or
(b) saving?

Saving.

Rough estimate of value of home:

Renting.

Amount outstanding on your mortgage:

n/a

What interest rate are you paying?

n/a

Other borrowings – car loans/personal loans etc:

None.

Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month?

Yes.

If not, what is the balance on your credit card?

n/a

Savings and investments:

120k Prize Bonds
43k Investments (amount I've invested, not the value of my portfolio)

Do you have a pension scheme?

Yes. Company contribute 10% and I have put in variable amounts throughout the years. Currently contribute 5%. Value of the pension is 100k.

Do you own any investment or other property?

No.

Ages of children:

None.

Life insurance:

None.

What specific question do you have or what issues are of concern to you?

We're looking to buy in the near future so putting away as much as we can to build up a decent deposit. Hence why I've got a large chunk of my savings in prize bonds. I had a look back over the past eight years (when I started taking this more seriously and tracking everything) and I've managed to save 50% of my take home pay since then.

In terms of the pension scheme, as I've passed the 40 year mark the scheme has automatically moved me into a less risky fund (Zurich Dynamic Fund (91% equities, 7% bonds, 2% cash) to the Performance Fund (81% equities, 18% bonds, 1% cash). Guess this is all down to risk appetite but does it make sense the stay in the Dynamic Fund for another couple of years?

Thanks.
 
Congrats on saving so much money living within your means. Yes it's wise to own your own home. Personally I would try not to overspend on a home. Leave yourself a very manageable mortgage so you still have cash flow for other things. With your company contributing 10% you could be shovelling 35% of gross salary into your pension and getting 40% tax relief on your own (25%) contributions. This is where you can really build wealth until your retirement. Of course you should have a rainy day fund as well. Probably most others on AAM would recommend being 100% in equities at your age.
 
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Yes I would definitely stay in the dynamic fund until 55 at least. Thats assuming you want to retire at 65. I would reassess at 55 but I wouldn't give it a second thought until then.
 
moore82 said:
Do you have a pension scheme?

Yes. Company contribute 10% and I have put in variable amounts throughout the years. Currently contribute 5%. Value of the pension is 100k.
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Since you're saving to buy a house you should probably only put the minimum amount into your pension that is required to secure the maximum employer contribution. If you don't need to contribute anything to get the employer 10% then it might make sense to do that (contribute nothing) and prioritise saving for the house.

This key post is worth reviewing:

Key Post - Overpay mortgage or contribute to pension or do something else?

This comes up in a lot of different threads, so I will set out some principles here to kick off the discussion. I will edit it in the light of feedback. There are many options with your savings in excess of your emergency cash fund Pay down your mortgage Build up a fund to enable you to trade...
www.askaboutmoney.com
moore82 said:
In terms of the pension scheme, as I've passed the 40 year mark the scheme has automatically moved me into a less risky fund (Zurich Dynamic Fund (91% equities, 7% bonds, 2% cash) to the Performance Fund (81% equities, 18% bonds, 1% cash). Guess this is all down to risk appetite but does it make sense the stay in the Dynamic Fund for another couple of years?
Click to expand...
Personally I would be 100% in equities at your age. In fact I still am (MSCI World Equity Index tracker for most and similar index funds for the balance) touching 60 and easing into an early retirement. And I have no plans to change the asset mix as I start splitting some of the pension off info smaller PRSAs and then taking the pro-rata tax free lump sum and a modest annual income.
 
moore82 said:
Hence why I've got a large chunk of my savings in prize bonds. I
Click to expand...
You might be better off with the money on deposit.

What percentage interest rate is paid in prizes on Prize Bonds

Here is their press statement for the Annual Report but it does not mention the percentage - I can work it out,but is there an official figure? Sales of Prize Bonds at €350m as fund totals €4.46bn 26th of June 2025. The Prize Bond Company DAC, which administers Prize Bonds on behalf of...
www.askaboutmoney.com

Best Buy - Savings Best Buys

Savings Best Buys: There are 3 savings best buy threads on AskAboutMoney that are updated frequently. Instant Access and Notice Accounts - Lump sum variable rate savings. Fixed Term Deposits - Fixed Lump Sum Term Deposits from a few months to a few years. Regular Savings - Smaller sum...
www.askaboutmoney.com
 
Fair point on the prize bonds. Started investing in them approx 4 years ago and have a return of 2.8k, works out at around 0.60% per year.
 
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