I have found this site to be a mine of information recently and it has been a real incentive to build assets after years of ignoring my personal finances.
Most recently I have been reading the pensions section as myself and the other half are in the process of setting up AVCs/PRSAs.
Both of us are already in state occupational pension schemes. I have been contributing to my scheme for 11 years and my wife for just one year but with six years of contributions to a private sector scheme before that. We are both in our thirties (35 and 31).
We are setting up AVCs because, while we are currently working full time (and paying substantial amounts of tax at the top rate), in the future neither of us expect to work a full time work pattern or to work until we are 65. Therefore it seems to make sense to use the tax relief available to us now while we are working full time to build up AVCs that will plug the gap in our pensions created by our future irregular working patterns/early retirement. Buying back notional service is not possible at present for us.
My wife intends to set up an Irish Life Consensus Fund AVC/PRSA on an execution only basis. I am undecided between an AVC or a Quinn Freeway fund but understand that AVCs are more flexible in that you can switch between providers?? I will probably go for a non-standard index-tracking PRSA, also on execution only basis.
I have a couple of practical questions to which I haven’t found answers on this site so grateful for advice.
Most recently I have been reading the pensions section as myself and the other half are in the process of setting up AVCs/PRSAs.
Both of us are already in state occupational pension schemes. I have been contributing to my scheme for 11 years and my wife for just one year but with six years of contributions to a private sector scheme before that. We are both in our thirties (35 and 31).
We are setting up AVCs because, while we are currently working full time (and paying substantial amounts of tax at the top rate), in the future neither of us expect to work a full time work pattern or to work until we are 65. Therefore it seems to make sense to use the tax relief available to us now while we are working full time to build up AVCs that will plug the gap in our pensions created by our future irregular working patterns/early retirement. Buying back notional service is not possible at present for us.
My wife intends to set up an Irish Life Consensus Fund AVC/PRSA on an execution only basis. I am undecided between an AVC or a Quinn Freeway fund but understand that AVCs are more flexible in that you can switch between providers?? I will probably go for a non-standard index-tracking PRSA, also on execution only basis.
I have a couple of practical questions to which I haven’t found answers on this site so grateful for advice.
- We would like to contribute a lump sum for 2006 and 2007. I presume the maximum we can contribute is: 20% of gross salary minus contributions to occupational scheme (about 6% in my case) = 14% of gross salary per year.
- Can I contribute the full 14% for 2007 now or do I have to wait until the end of the year?
- Are there any practical differences between setting up a PRSA and AVC? Also, presumably switching between AVC providers is the same as switching between PRSA providers as it is essentially the same product?