Hi MG
Given the complexity of your situation and the figures involved, you should definitely pay an independent finanancial advisor a fee to work out all your options - pensions, tax, investments, mortgages etc. Given the complexity, I would suggest you use a
Certified Financial Planner
1) In preparation for that, read this Key Post
Continue with AVC's or pay extra off buy to let mortgage?
We would like to tax plan smartly, build enough to maximise TFLS's but not be in a position to be hammered by the tax man in the future
It seems to me that your current pension fund is at or near the maximum for tax efficiency. Therefore you should not be contributing any more.
Not sure how this works for your wife.
2) What interest rate are you paying on the properties in Northern Ireland? You should look at paying them off - comparing the net interest rate after tax to what you can earn on deposit.
3)
We have savings of €275K but do not really want to touch any of this as it is a nest egg.
How do you mean it's a nestegg? What do you need it for? It's a huge amount to have for a rainyday fund. You should put it to work either paying off a mortgage or investing it, probably in equities.
4)
We would like to ...not be eligible for state pension because we saved as hard as we could.
Be careful about saving too hard. You have considerable wealth ( assuming your properties are not in negative equity). Your wife can easily afford to stop working. You are likely to be very wealthy in your old age. Don't be too careful.
5)
Our PPR mortgage is €263,000, ECB + 1.25, currently overpaying by €250pm,
Why are you overpaying it?
If it makes sense to overpay it, then you should just set your nest egg against it.
If it doesn't make sense to set the nest egg against it, you should not be overpaying it either.
Who is the mortgage with? You should keep your money liquid so that if they do introduce some discount for paying off trackers early, you can avail of it.
6) You are overexposed to property
Our PPR mortgage is €263,000...
We have investment property in Dublin worth €300K, mortgage of €50K, ECB +.95, renting at €1,100pm
3 investment properties in NI, one with mortgage finishing next May others finishing in 10 years after (all rented)
It sounds as if you have around €800k in property
That is enough, maybe even too much.
You should look at diversifying your portfolio. If it does not make sense to pay off your mortgages early, you should probably invest your nest egg in an equity portfolio. That way you get diversification and liquidity.
But these are only pointers. A good Certified Financial Planner will charge you a good fee and give you good advice, which you can get a second opinion on from askaboutmoney.