Every question, answered in plain English

Usually the parents or grandparents giving the money. The trustees hold the investment for the child and manage it in the child's interest until they reach 18.

They are entitled to the money and can ask the trustees for all of it. That is the nature of a bare trust, so plan for it from the start.

Not always. A children's savings plan can be held in your own name for the child, which keeps control with you. A bare trust puts ownership with the child. Our children's savings plan page covers the other route.

Each grandparent can give €3,000 a year under the small gift exemption. Above that, gifts count against the grandchild's Group B threshold of €44,000 from 7 October 2026.

While the person who gave the money is alive, income from money they settle on a child under 18 is taxed as their income, not the child's. Investment policies with an Irish life company are taxed differently: gains are taxed under life assurance exit tax.

No. Once the money is in a bare trust it belongs to the child. If you may need it back, keep it in your own name.

A forecast of your finances year by year for the rest of your life. It shows whether your money supports the life you want, and what to change if it does not.

Anyone facing a big decision: when to retire, how much to draw from a pension, whether to clear the mortgage, how much to give to children. It matters most within ten years of retirement and after a sale, a bonus or an inheritance.

Yes, from the age you qualify, at the rate your contribution record supports. The maximum personal rate of the State Pension (Contributory) is €299.30 a week in 2026, and Budget 2027 adds €10 a week from January 2027.

No forecast is exact, which is why we stress test it and review it. The value is in the decisions. A plan that works in the pessimistic case gives you room. One that fails shows you the fix while there is time to make it.

Your advisor turns it into decisions with figures beside them and sets up the ones you agree: pension contributions, investments, protection and gifts. The forecast is updated at every review.

Yes. Two incomes, two pensions and one set of goals belong in one forecast, and it shows what happens to each of you if the other dies first.

Your forecast is held in regulated financial planning software with the same security standards as online banking. True Wealth never holds client money.

€3,000 from each giver in each calendar year, under the small gift exemption. Two parents can give €6,000 a year between them. Above that, gifts count against the child's Group A threshold of €420,000 from 7 October 2026.

In your name, you keep control and can change your mind, but handing it over at 18 is one large gift. In the child's name, each year's gift falls under the small gift exemption, but the money is theirs at 18. Your advisor sets out both in figures.

Yes. Each grandparent can give €3,000 a year under the small gift exemption. Above that, gifts count against the grandchild's Group B threshold of €44,000 from 7 October 2026.

Start with what fits your budget and step it up as your income rises. Irish Life's Clear Regular Invest starts at €100 a month. Lump sums from birthdays and family can go in along the way.

No. The value of the funds can go down as well as up. As the date gets closer, your advisor can move the plan into lower risk funds.

The life company deducts exit tax of 38% on the gain when money is taken out, and every eight years on the gain so far. Budget 2027 announced a cut to 35%. A 1% government levy applies to each payment.

The person who receives the gift or inheritance. Each beneficiary has their own threshold, set by their relationship to you.

Yes. From 7 October 2026 the Group A threshold rose to €420,000, Group B to €44,000 and Group C to €22,000. The rate stays at 33%.

No. Gifts and inheritances between spouses or civil partners carry no CAT. The tax usually arises when the second spouse dies and the estate passes to the children.

Yes. Each person can receive €3,000 a year from you with no CAT and no effect on their threshold. Larger gifts count towards their threshold in the same way as an inheritance.

Section 72 is life cover that pays inheritance tax on your death. Section 73 is a savings plan, held for at least eight years, that pays gift tax on gifts you make in your lifetime.

For the will, yes. We plan the money side alongside your solicitor and your accountant.

Yes, and you should. We review it after any big change: a marriage, a separation, a birth, a sale or a change in the tax rules.

You can receive gifts worth up to €3,000 from any one person in a calendar year without paying CAT. Gifts within the exemption do not reduce your lifetime group threshold.

Yes. The exemption applies to each giver, so two parents can give a child €6,000 a year with no CAT.

A grandchild receiving from a grandparent is in Group B, with a threshold of €44,000 from 7 October 2026. A grandchild under 18 whose parent has died can use Group A. The €3,000 small gift exemption applies on top.

Normal and reasonable payments for the support, maintenance or education of your child under 18, or under 25 and in full-time education, are exempt from CAT.

CAT is charged at 33% on the amount above the threshold.

Budget 2027 raised them for gifts and inheritances taken on or after 7 October 2026: Group A to €420,000, Group B to €44,000 and Group C to €22,000.

Every insurer on the Irish market, including Vhi, Laya Healthcare and Irish Life Health. We do not recommend a plan until we have compared them.

Not for cover you already have, as long as your break is 13 weeks or less. Waiting periods apply only to higher benefits on the new plan: up to two years, and 52 weeks for higher maternity cover.

Up to 26 weeks for new illnesses, five years for conditions you had before joining and 52 weeks for maternity. There is no waiting period for accidents and injuries.

No. Anyone can buy health insurance in Ireland, whatever their age, health or medical history. You may serve waiting periods when you first join.

Insurers may offer young adult rates to people aged 18 to 25 and discounts for children. A group of people can get a discount of up to 10%.

Some insurers let you move to another of their own plans mid-contract. Leaving for another insurer mid-contract usually brings a cancellation charge, so we time the switch for your renewal.

Yes. We can review your plan with you, and we compare company plans for employers too. See group health insurance.

Either. If you know what you need, the live quote pages compare the main Irish insurers in two minutes. If you are not sure, start with the short form and your advisor works out what you need first.

We are whole of market. For life cover, mortgage protection, income protection and serious illness cover we quote the main Irish life insurers side by side, including Irish Life, Zurich, Aviva, New Ireland and Royal London Ireland. For pensions and savings we compare charges, funds and terms.

That depends on what goes in, how it is invested and when you want to stop. Your advisor projects it to your retirement age, adds the State Pension, and shows you the gap, if there is one, and the cheapest way to close it.

Leave it where it is, move it to your current scheme, or move it into a personal retirement bond or PRSA in your own name. Our pension review compares each option in figures.

Mortgage protection is life cover that usually falls as your mortgage falls. Your lender is legally required to make sure you have it on a home loan, with some exceptions. You do not have to buy the lender's own policy.

Yes, and it works better that way. Two incomes, two pensions, one mortgage and one set of goals belong in one plan.

Usually up to 75% of your earnings before the illness, less other income while you are off, including the State Illness Benefit. Each insurer also sets a maximum in euro.

Sick pay usually runs for a set time. Income protection starts when it stops. Set the deferred period to match and you pay only for the gap.

Many plans offer indexation. At Royal London Ireland, for example, cover rises by 3% a year and the premium by 3.5%.

Yes. Benefit from an approved policy is taxed as income under PAYE, with USC.

With no sick pay to fall back on, income protection matters more. Self-employed people can claim the tax relief on premiums too.

Executive income protection lets the company pay the premium for you. See our executive income protection page.

No. We invest through regulated funds from Irish life companies. A fund spreads your money across many holdings, which no single share can do.

Because a fund can fall in any one year. Five years or more gives it time to recover. Money you may need sooner is safer on deposit.

Bringing your funds back to the mix you chose. If shares rise faster than bonds, your plan carries more risk than you agreed. Rebalancing trims it back.

Yes. The main providers offer funds that screen companies on environmental, social and governance standards, and we can match them to your risk rating.

Your advisor shows you where your plan stands in euro and whether your timeline has changed. If it has, we change the plan. If it has not, the plan you agreed already allowed for a fall.

Two minutes on the form. Your advisor is in touch, completes a risk questionnaire with you and shows you funds matched to your plan.

It depends on your age, your health, whether you smoke, how much cover you want and for how long. The live quote shows your price from each insurer. Life assurance premiums also carry a 1% government levy.

Joint cover insures two people and pays out once, on the first death. Dual cover insures two people separately and pays out on each death. Dual cover costs more but leaves the survivor insured.

Every insurer asks about your health, smoking, work and hobbies. Answer each question fully and accurately. An insurer may refuse a claim if information on the application was wrong or left out, so your advisor goes through the questions with you before you apply.

Most applications are decided on your answers. Depending on your age, the amount of cover and your answers, the insurer may ask for more medical information. Your advisor deals with the insurer for you.

Often yes, sometimes at a higher price or with an exclusion. Insurers view conditions differently, which is why comparing the market matters most when your history is not straightforward.

Death in service from a company pension scheme can pay up to four times salary, and only while you stay in that job. If you move or stop working, it stops. Personal cover stays with you for the full term.

An option to convert your policy into a new one for a longer term without giving new evidence of your health. You pay more for it, and it can be worth it if your health changes.

At least five years. A fund can fall in any one year, and time gives it room to recover. Money you may need sooner is usually better on deposit.

Most investment bonds let you take out part or all of the value. Some charge an early exit fee in the first years, so we show this before you invest. Exit tax applies to any gain you take out.

The provider deducts exit tax from the gain: 38% today, cut to 35% by Budget 2027 from a date set in Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026. Deemed disposal taxes the gain every eight years, credited when you cash in. You have no return to file.

No return is guaranteed. We show you a range of outcomes for your fund and timeline, the poor ones included.

It is expected from 1 July 2027, with a limit of €12,000 a year. We show you how the two fit together. Read more about the Personal Investment Account.

No. Your money is invested with a regulated Irish life company in your name. True Wealth advises, compares and arranges the plan.

Irish Life's Clear Regular Invest starts at €100 a month and Zurich's LifeSave Savings Plus at €75. You can add lump sums along the way.

Yes. You can take some or all of it out. Some plans charge for withdrawals in the first few years, and exit tax applies to any gain. Your advisor shows both in euro before you start.

No. The value of the funds can go down as well as up, and a savings plan is not a deposit. Lower risk funds rise and fall less, and cash funds are available inside most plans.

The life company deducts exit tax of 38% on the gain when you take money out, and every eight years on the gain so far. Budget 2027 announced a cut to 35%. A 1% government levy applies to each payment.

Five years or more. Plans like Irish Life's Clear Regular Invest are designed for that. For money you may need sooner, a deposit account is usually the better home.

Budget 2027 confirmed a new Investment Account from 1 July 2027, taxed at 1% a year on the value above €50,000, with up to €12,000 paid in each year. See our Personal Investment Account page. Your advisor compares it with a savings plan for you.

Up to 4 times your gross income under the Central Bank rules, with a deposit of at least 10%. A lender can go above this in some cases, within the share of lending the rules allow.

At least 10% for a home, whether you are a first time buyer or a mover, and at least 30% for a buy to let.

No. Switcher mortgages are exempt from both the loan to income and the loan to value limits.

A scheme for first time buyers buying or self-building a new home. Budget 2027 raised the maximum to €35,000 from 7 October 2026. You can get the lowest of €35,000, 10% of the purchase price, or the income tax and DIRT you paid in the four years before you apply.

Your lender is legally required to make sure you have it on a home loan, with some exceptions. You do not have to buy the lender's own policy. Compare the market on our mortgage protection page.

No. It is a lender's indication of what it may lend, based on initial checks. The final offer follows the valuation and the lender's full assessment.

Your lender is legally required to make sure you have it before a home loan, under section 126 of the Consumer Credit Act 1995. The exceptions include being over 50, a loan that is not on your home, existing cover that is enough, or being unable to get cover. Some lenders insist on it anyway.

Since 6 December 2023 a code of practice means insurers can disregard a cancer diagnosis where treatment ended more than seven years ago, or five years if you were diagnosed before 18, for mortgage protection up to €500,000.

Check your cover still matches the new loan. If you borrow more or extend the term, you may need extra cover. We check it as part of the switch.

No. It pays on death, and on diagnosis of a covered illness if you add serious illness cover. Income protection covers your income if illness stops you working.

Keep payments up to date. If you fall into arrears the policy may lapse, and the cover ends with it.

Yes, if it gives enough cover and is not already assigned to another loan.

Up to 4 times your gross income as a first time buyer and 3.5 times as a second or later buyer, with at least a 10% deposit. Lenders can go above the limits for a share of their lending, and they also test affordability. Try the mortgage calculator.

It can be, especially when a fixed period ends. We set the saving against the legal and valuation costs before you decide. Switchers sit outside the Central Bank limits, though each lender applies its own rules.

A refund of income tax and DIRT for first time buyers of a new home, or a self build, costing €500,000 or less. Budget 2027 raised the maximum to €35,000. It is capped at the lowest of €35,000, 10% of the price and the tax you paid in the previous four years.

At least 30% of the price under the Central Bank rules. The lender also looks at the rent the property can earn.

In most cases, yes. Your lender must make sure you have it. It does not apply if you are over 50, the loan is not on your home, you already have enough life cover or you cannot get cover.

No. We compare the main lenders, and you choose whichever fits you best.

Illness and life cover that pays a percentage of your cover for each covered event, based on how severe it is, and keeps paying until the full amount has been used. Royal London Ireland describes its Multi-Claim Protection Cover as unique in the Irish market.

Standard serious illness cover pays a lump sum when a listed illness meets the policy definition, and the main cover then ends. Multi-claim cover pays smaller amounts for less severe events and keeps the rest of your cover in place.

Other insurers build extra payments into standard cover. Irish Life's Specified Illness Cover, for example, covers 48 main illnesses and makes an additional payment for 41 further listed conditions. We compare both approaches.

No. On Royal London Ireland's Multi-Claim Protection Cover the premium stays the same after a claim. It only rises if you chose indexation or increase your cover.

Often yes. Royal London Ireland can take out the claims linked to your history and cover you for the rest, along with the life cover. Your advisor checks this before you apply.

No. It pays a share of your cover when an event happens, not a monthly income while you cannot work. See our income protection page.

Royal London Ireland accepts applicants aged 18 to 65, for terms of up to 40 years, ending by age 70.

No. Pension rights can only be shared by a court order made on judicial separation, divorce or dissolution, or on an application for redress when a cohabitation ends.

The court can make it when it grants the decree, and either spouse can apply afterwards. An order on retirement benefits can be made at any time. An order on death in service benefits can only be made up to a year after the decree.

An order is not made where the applying spouse has married or remarried. Once made, an order on retirement benefits is not affected by a later marriage. An order on death in service benefits ends on marriage or remarriage.

No. If you take no action, the designated benefit is usually paid when your former partner's benefits start. You can apply to transfer it at any time before payment starts, and the application must cover the full designated benefit.

In some cases. Where the benefit comes from a defined contribution scheme, or the member leaves the scheme, the trustees can transfer it to another arrangement after giving you at least 30 days' written notice.

If the member dies before the designated benefit is paid and the pension has not already been split, the trustees must pay you the actuarial value of your share within three months.

A qualified cohabitant can apply when the relationship ends. To qualify, you must have lived together for at least five years, or two years if you have dependent children together. The order covers the cohabitant only, not children.

The difference between what you expect to spend each year in retirement and the income you are on track for from the State Pension, your own pensions and anything else. The calculator shows it in today's money so the figure means something now.

The maximum State Pension (Contributory) is €299.30 a week in 2026, rising to €309.30 from January 2027. Your rate depends on your PRSI record: 2,080 contributions for the full rate, 520 to qualify at all.

Between 15% and 40% of your earnings, depending on your age, on earnings up to €115,000 a year. Employer contributions to a company scheme are counted separately.

€100 into your pension costs €80 if you pay tax at 20% and €60 at 40%. Relief at 40% applies only to the part of your pay taxed at 40%, above €44,000 for a single person in 2026.

You need to fund the years between stopping work and the State Pension starting. The calculator works out how many of those bridging years you face and what they cost.

MyFutureFund, the State scheme that started on 1 January 2026, starts at 1.5% of pay from you and 1.5% from your employer, rising to 6% each by year 10. It is a floor, not a plan, and on its own it may not close your gap. See our start a pension page.

It works for you as an individual. Your company can pay into your pension on more generous terms, so see our self-employed and director pensions page as well.

It pays a lump sum on death in the same way, but you get income tax relief on the premiums. It covers one person only, cannot include serious illness cover and cannot be assigned to a mortgage lender.

People with relevant earnings: the self-employed, and employees in a job with no company pension scheme. A pension in another job does not stop you claiming against earnings that qualify.

Relief is at your marginal rate, 20% or 40%. Your premiums and personal pension contributions together can get relief on up to 15% to 40% of your earnings, depending on your age, on earnings up to €115,000.

Through your tax return, using the certificate the insurer sends you. If you pay a premium by 31 October, you can elect to claim it against the previous tax year.

No. Revenue gives income tax relief only. PRSI and USC are not reduced.

You may no longer be able to claim the relief. The policy carries on as long as you keep paying the premiums.

Personal policies can run to age 75 at the latest. Irish Life, for example, offers terms of 5 to 40 years. Executive policies end by normal retirement age, 70 at the latest.

It is expected to open on 1 July 2027, launched by providers. The Department of Finance says the further details will be set out in Finance (No. 2) Bill 2026.

The 1% applies only to the value above €50,000, worked out on the average of the account's daily values. An account averaging €80,000 over a year would pay 1% of €30,000, which is €300. An account under €50,000 pays nothing. These figures are illustrative.

At launch the account can hold shares, bonds, investment funds and insurance-based investment products. We advise on the funds and insurance-based investment products offered through the account by the regulated providers we compare.

This has not been confirmed. Do not sell or move existing investments because of the account until the Finance Bill and provider terms are published.

No. Pension contributions still get income tax relief and nothing announced for the account does. For most people the account sits beside a pension, not instead of it.

Yes. Each eligible person can hold one account at launch, so a couple can hold two, each with its own €12,000 limit and €50,000 threshold.

Providers may charge a fee to manage it. We compare the charges when providers publish their terms.

Budget 2027 also cuts the tax on Irish investment funds and life assurance investment policies from 38% to 35%, and cuts Capital Gains Tax from 33% to 31% for disposals on or after 7 October 2026.

Yes. Both names describe a policy bought by the trustees of a pension scheme in a former member's name, replacing the right to claim benefits from that scheme.

No. A transfer must move the whole benefit.

Your legal right to a transfer payment ends if you do not use it within two years of leaving the scheme, or a longer period the scheme or its trustees allow.

No. Transfers between a PRSA and a buy-out bond are not permitted, which is one reason to choose carefully the first time.

Take a retirement lump sum within Revenue limits, with the first €200,000 tax-free across all your pensions, and use the rest for an approved retirement fund or an annuity, under company pension rules.

Charges vary by provider and by fund. We show you the charges on your old scheme and on each option before you decide.

Where a director with a 20% interest or more takes early retirement benefits, Revenue generally requires them to cut all links with the business, including disposing of all their shares. We check this before you plan to draw from 50.

Members aged at least 55 with 24 months of contributions can apply to their employer for early retirement. The pension and lump sum are actuarially reduced, and the further you are from your normal retirement age, the bigger the permanent reduction.

The first €200,000 of retirement lump sums across all your pensions is tax-free. The next €300,000 is taxed at 20%. Your scheme rules and Revenue limits set the maximum lump sum.

Yes, at your marginal rate of 20% or 40%, within age-related limits of 15% to 40% of earnings and an earnings cap of €115,000. Your main scheme contributions count towards the limit.

AVC benefits follow your main scheme. They are taken when you retire, subject to the scheme rules and the Revenue limits for occupational pensions.

It depends on the cost of the service, how close you are to retirement and how much investment risk you want. Notional service buys more scheme benefit. AVCs build a fund whose value can go down as well as up. We compare both in euro.

Yes. Teachers, HSE staff, local authority staff and civil servants are all public servants, and the scheme you are in depends mainly on when you joined. Your benefit statement shows which one.

The order of the decisions. The lump sum you choose can decide what is open for the rest of the fund: in a company scheme, the salary-based lump sum means the rest buys an annuity, while the 25% route keeps the ARF open. We set out the lump sum, an ARF, an annuity and the mix in euro, alongside the State Pension, and build the cash-flow plan before anything is signed. The Department of Social Protection recommends applying for the State Pension six months before you want it to start.

Whether the plan still works. We check how the ARF is invested against the income you take, whether the drawdown rate is one the fund can sustain to age 100, what you pay in charges compared with other providers, and how your withdrawals are taxed alongside the State Pension and any other income. We also look at who inherits the ARF and the tax they would pay. Our pension review starts with the form on this page.

Up to 25% of the fund from a PRSA or personal pension. In a company scheme you can usually choose 25% of the fund or an amount based on salary and service, up to 1.5 times final salary with at least 20 years' service. Lower amounts apply if you retire early, have less than 20 years' service or hold benefits from a previous scheme.

The first €200,000 is tax free. The next €300,000 is taxed at the standard rate of 20%, and anything above €500,000 is taxed as income at your marginal rate. The €200,000 is a lifetime limit covering every retirement lump sum you have taken since 7 December 2005.

Nothing has to be withdrawn, but Revenue taxes a minimum each year as if it had been. It is 4% of the value of your ARFs and vested PRSAs on 30 November once you are 60 or over for the whole year, 5% once you are 70 or over for the whole year, and 6% where the total is more than €2 million. Withdrawing at least that amount means the tax is paid on money you have in hand.

Yes. A transfer from one ARF to another in your name is not treated as a withdrawal, so the move itself is not taxed. We compare charges, funds and service across Irish Life, Zurich, Aviva, New Ireland, Standard Life and Royal London, check any cost of leaving your current provider, and handle the transfer.

Not after the short cancellation period in the policy. An annuity cannot be cashed in, and the options you choose, such as a spouse's pension or yearly increases, cannot be changed later. The reverse is possible: an ARF can be used to buy an annuity at any time, so you can start with an ARF and secure part of your income later in retirement.

It can pass to your spouse's or civil partner's own ARF with no income tax and no inheritance tax. A child under 21 pays no income tax on it, though inheritance tax may apply. A child aged 21 or over pays income tax at 30% and no inheritance tax. Anyone else pays income tax and inheritance tax. An annuity stops on your death unless you chose a spouse's pension or a guaranteed period. Our estate planning page has more on passing wealth on.

It was abolished. Before 2022, anyone under 75 without a guaranteed pension income of €12,700 a year had to place up to €63,500 in an Approved Minimum Retirement Fund or buy an annuity before using an ARF. Finance Act 2021 removed that requirement, and every existing AMRF became an ARF on 1 January 2022. An old AMRF is now an ARF and can be reviewed like one.

No. The State Pension (Contributory) is not means tested, so your ARF, annuity or lump sum does not reduce it. It is paid from 66 at a maximum personal rate of €299.30 a week in 2026, rising to €309.30 from January 2027. It is taxable, so we include it when we work out the tax on your pension income. If you were born on or after 1 January 1958, you can start it at any date up to 70 for a higher rate.

It depends on your age, health, smoking status and the amount of cover. We get quotes from the main providers for your figures.

Yes, set by each provider. Irish Life's whole of life cover is open from age 18 to 74 and Zurich's from 45 to 74, so starting before your mid seventies keeps your options open.

The premiums must be paid by you, the person insured. Your children can each give you up to €3,000 a year under the small gift exemption, which you can use towards the premium.

No. A policy must be set up under Section 72 from the start. Existing cover cannot be turned into a Section 72 policy later.

Not usually. That is what Section 73 is for, though some Section 72 policies with an early encashment option after eight years can qualify.

If you stop paying, the cover ends. Some premium changes can cost the policy its Section 72 status for good, so talk to us first.

Parents and grandparents who plan to pass on a house, a site, land or business shares in eight years or more, and who have spare income to save towards the tax.

No. If you decide not to, the plan stays yours, to use as ordinary savings.

The eight-year wait is shortened if you, or your spouse or civil partner, die or become critically ill and the policy pays out. If you die after the payout but before making the gift, the relief for the gift is lost. A plan that pays out on death may qualify under Section 72 instead, if it meets those rules.

Yes. A plan is held in one person's name, or jointly by a married couple or civil partners.

Within limits. Over the eight years, no year's premium can be less than half of another year's. If premiums stop, they cannot restart, and stopping inside the first eight years loses the relief.

In some cases. A Section 73 plan that pays out on your death can qualify as Section 72 cover if it meets those rules. For inheritance tax on your death, Section 72 cover is the usual route.

Yes, on the gain, as with any life company savings plan. The provider deducts it, and the rest goes towards the gift tax.

Each insurer publishes its own list and its own definition of each illness, so two policies at the same price can pay out differently. Your advisor compares them before you choose.

Enough to clear your debts and keep you going while you recover. Irish Life suggests, on average, about twice your yearly salary on top of the mortgage and other debts.

No. Serious illness cover pays one lump sum on diagnosis. Income protection pays a monthly income while you cannot work. Many people hold both.

Yes. The mortgage is then cleared on diagnosis of a covered illness as well as on death. It costs more.

On some plans. Royal London Ireland's cover, for example, includes the children of the insured for a share of the serious illness benefit.

Yes. Standalone cover can be bought without any life cover.

Not from the job you are still in. Early access from 50 on a company pension needs you to have left the employment the pension relates to. A pension from a previous job may be available even while you work elsewhere.

Where a director with a 20% interest or more takes early retirement benefits, Revenue generally requires them to cut all links with the business, including disposing of all their shares.

An ARF is a fund in your name that stays invested after retirement. You draw an income from it, and its value can rise or fall. It passes to your estate when you die.

The first €200,000 of retirement lump sums, across all pensions since 7 December 2005, is tax-free. The amount from €200,000 to €500,000 is taxed at 20%. Anything above €500,000 is taxed as income.

Before retirement, a personal pension or PRSA forms part of your estate. After retirement, an ARF passing to a spouse or civil partner carries no income tax or CAT on the transfer. An annuity normally stops on death unless a guaranteed period or a spouse's pension was chosen.

Yes. On most pensions, benefits can be paid at any age if ill health means you have to retire. The scheme and the provider set the evidence they need.

Sometimes. If the income lasts and the tax is fair, it can fund a change of career or clear debt. If it leaves you short at 70, it is the wrong move. We show you both before you decide.

Planning and looking after everything you own as one plan: pensions, investments, protection and inheritance. One senior advisor builds the plan, sets up what it needs and reviews it every year.

There is no fixed minimum. It suits people whose pensions, savings or business mean the decisions are large enough to plan with care. Tell us your situation on the form and your advisor says whether it fits.

We compare every main Irish provider for each product, including Irish Life, Zurich, Aviva, New Ireland, Standard Life and Royal London Ireland. We recommend what suits your plan, not one company's range.

Yes. True Wealth is a trading name of True Financial Ltd, regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Every pension, investment and policy we arrange is a regulated product from a regulated Irish provider.

We advise on the tax treatment of the pensions, investments and cover we arrange. Where your plan needs wider tax advice, we work with your accountant and our tax partners, Brown & Lombard.

Yes. You can view it on your computer or in the app on iOS and Android, with every goal marked on your timeline.

Once a year in full, and whenever something changes: a new job, a sale, an inheritance or a new arrival in the family.

No. A plan is most useful for people who are still building, because the decisions made at 35 or 45 are the ones that decide what 65 looks like. If you have an income and any kind of pension, cover or savings, there is something to plan.

A pension review is one part of it. The plan looks at the pension alongside your cover, your savings, your mortgage and your goals, because the right pension decision depends on the rest. If you only want the pension looked at, our review page does that on its own.

The form takes two minutes. The fact find takes about twenty. Your plan review with your advisor takes about an hour, and most clients have their plan within two weeks of the first contact.

Yes, and it is the better way to do it. Two incomes, two pensions, one mortgage and one set of goals belong in one forecast.

Many clients come to us with policies arranged elsewhere. We review what you hold and tell you what to keep. There is no obligation to move anything.

Your plan and fact find are held in regulated financial planning software with the same security standards as online banking. True Wealth never holds client money; your pensions, investments and policies sit with the providers.

Your plan stays live in the app, your advisor reviews it with you at least once a year and whenever something changes, and you can contact them in between. Policies and pensions arranged through us are serviced by us.

Yes. Pension relief, the medical insurance credit, gift and inheritance thresholds and the reliefs available to directors are part of every plan. For complex personal tax questions we work alongside tax advisors and bring them in when they are needed.

You pay in, Revenue gives back income tax at 20% or 40% on the contribution, and the money is invested in funds that grow without tax inside the pension. From 60, or 50 in some cases, you take 25% as a lump sum, the first €200,000 of which is tax free, and draw the rest as income through an ARF or an annuity. That income is taxed under PAYE.

Both are pensions you own and both get the same tax relief. A PRSA has capped charges on the Standard version, takes employer contributions, and is open to anyone. A personal pension plan is an insurance contract for the self-employed and for employees without a company scheme, with charges set by the provider and no route for employer money. Both open at 60, with the PRSA also open from 50 where it holds employer money and you have left that job.

Yes. Many people keep a company scheme for the employer contribution and add a PRSA or AVCs on top. The age-related limit applies to your combined personal contributions: a 45-year-old on €50,000 can put a total of €12,500 a year across everything with relief. Employer contributions sit outside that limit.

No, not before 50 unless you are in ill health. A company scheme, or a PRSA holding employer money, can be accessed from 50 once you have left that job. A personal pension plan, or a PRSA funded only by you, opens at 60. There is no route to cash in a private pension at 40 or 45 in Ireland.

A PRSA provider cannot set a minimum above €300 a year, or €10 per electronic payment (Pensions Authority), so you can start small and increase it. The figure that matters is the net cost: at 40% relief, €200 a month costs €120; at 20% relief, €160.

If you die before retirement, the value of a PRSA or personal pension plan forms part of your estate and Capital Acquisitions Tax may apply. After retirement, an ARF passing to your spouse or civil partner carries no income tax or CAT on the transfer, while a child aged 21 or over pays income tax at 30% and no CAT (Citizens Information). Company schemes have their own death-in-service terms, which we check in any review.

It is €2.2 million from 1 January 2026, up from €2 million, rising by €200,000 a year to €2.8 million in 2029 (Finance Act 2024). Pension savings above it are taxed at 40% as a chargeable excess. It affects few people but shapes how much a company should fund for a director.

My Future Fund started on 1 January 2026 for employees aged 23 to 60 earning over €20,000 with no workplace scheme. In years one to three it takes 1.5% from you, 1.5% from your employer and 0.5% from the State, on earnings up to €80,000 (gov.ie). Instead of tax relief, the State adds €1 for every €3 you pay in, which is €33 per €100 against €40 per €100 of relief for a higher rate taxpayer. You can hold a PRSA alongside it, and at 40% tax that is usually worth looking at.

Quotes and the first consultation are free of charge. Some services, such as a full financial plan, carry a fee, which is agreed in writing before any work starts. Where a provider pays us, that is disclosed before you sign.

Tell us where you are now, and a senior advisor provides you with your options.

The earliest one you can afford. In the table above, starting at 25 rather than 35 with the same €300 a month means about €219,000 more at 66 for €36,000 more paid in, at 5% a year before charges. The tax relief limits then rise at 30, 40, 50, 55 and 60 so that people who start later can catch up.

Yes. From 60 you can get tax relief on 40% of earnings up to €115,000, and a PRSA can be drawn from 60, so the money is not tied up for long. The 25% lump sum is tax free up to €200,000. With a short horizon the funds should be low risk. The main condition is earned income to set the relief against.

Open a personal pension plan or a PRSA, pay by direct debit or lump sum, and claim the relief on your Form 11. A contribution paid on or before 31 October can be elected against the previous tax year (Pensions Manual). Your limit is the age-related percentage of your net relevant earnings, up to €115,000. If you trade through a limited company, the company can fund the pension instead; see our self-employed and directors page.

Yes. A PRSA is available whatever your employment status, including to homemakers, carers and jobseekers (Pensions Authority). Tax relief needs earned income, so contributions made while you have none get no relief, but the fund still grows without tax inside it, and relief starts again when you are earning.

A PRSA provider cannot set a minimum above €300 a year, or €10 per electronic payment (Pensions Authority). Some providers set lower minimums. Personal pension plans and company schemes set their own, which we compare for you.

Yes. A PRSA holder can stop, start, increase and decrease contributions at any time, and the provider cannot charge for it (Pensions Authority). The fund stays invested while you pause. Company schemes have their own rules, and stopping usually means losing the employer contribution for that period, so it is worth asking before you do.

The advice part, working out the type, the amount and the funds, is one conversation with an advisor. After that the application, direct debit and identity checks are quick, and the provider sets the first collection date. Tax relief through payroll starts from the next pay run; relief through Revenue follows your claim.

Photo ID, proof of address and your PPS number, plus your bank details for the direct debit. An employer setting up a scheme or paying into your PRSA needs its own details. If you are transferring an old pension in, the old provider's statement helps. Nothing else is needed to get started.

There is no tax relief without earned income, so a pension for a child who does not work loses its main advantage. Once your child has a job, even part-time, a PRSA in their own name gets relief at 15% of earnings under 30, and 40 years of growth. Until then, a savings or investment plan in their name is usually the better vehicle; an advisor can compare the two.

It depends on what the old one is. A PRSA can usually be restarted. A company scheme from a previous employer cannot take new contributions from you, but it can transfer to a PRSA or a personal retirement bond, and a new pension can run alongside it. We check the charges and funds on the old one first; our pension review page explains what a review covers.

You can go direct to a single provider, and you then see that provider's range only. What an advisor adds is the comparison: charges, fund choice and flexibility across every main Irish provider, and the tax planning around the age limits, the 31 October rule and lump sums. True Wealth is whole of market and Central Bank regulated, and you see the comparison before you sign anything.

Quotes and the first consultation are free of charge. Some services, such as a full financial plan, carry a fee, which is agreed in writing before any work starts. Where a provider pays us, that is disclosed before you sign.

Tell us your age, your work and roughly what you could put away each month, and a senior advisor provides you with your options.

PRSA stands for Personal Retirement Savings Account. It is a personal pension contract approved by the Pensions Authority and Revenue, held in your own name and independent of any employer. Contributions get income tax relief at 20% or 40%, and you can take benefits from age 60.

Both give the same tax relief, but a PRSA is more flexible. An employer can pay into a PRSA and cannot pay into a personal pension. A PRSA can take transfers from a company scheme and from a personal pension; a personal pension cannot take a transfer from a PRSA.

As much as you like, but relief is limited to a percentage of earnings by age: 15% under 30, rising to 40% at 60 and over, on earnings up to €115,000. Employer contributions are separate and can be up to 100% of your salary without benefit in kind.

A standard PRSA cannot charge more than 5% of each contribution and 1% a year of the fund, and many products charge less than the cap. Non-standard PRSAs have no cap and may add fund-specific charges, so the total cost has to be read from the product's charges document.

Yes. If you are in a company scheme, a PRSA can only get tax relief as an AVC PRSA linked to that scheme, and your scheme contributions and AVCs share the one age-related limit.

If you die before drawing benefits, the value of the PRSA is paid to your estate and is not treated as your income for tax. What the beneficiaries pay depends on who inherits and the inheritance tax rules that apply to them.

Only through a non-standard, self-directed PRSA that allows property. Revenue permits a PRSA to hold residential property as an investment, provided the purchase is at arm's length and neither you nor anyone connected to you uses it. Our property through pension page explains the rules and the borrowing position.

Yes. A PRSA can be transferred to another PRSA or to a company scheme without a transfer charge. Compare the charges and funds on the new product with what you have before moving.

Quotes and the first consultation are free of charge. Some services, such as a full financial plan, carry a fee, which is agreed in writing before any work starts. Where a provider pays us, that is disclosed before you sign.

Additional Voluntary Contribution. It is a payment you choose to make into your occupational pension scheme on top of the contribution the scheme requires, with income tax relief at 20% or 40%.

Your scheme contributions and AVCs together are limited, for relief, to a percentage of earnings by age: 15% under 30, 20% at 30 to 39, 25% at 40 to 49, 30% at 50 to 54, 35% at 55 to 59 and 40% at 60 and over, on earnings up to €115,000. At the cap that is €46,000 a year at 60 and over.

Yes. If the AVC runs through your employer's scheme, the relief is given in your pay under the net pay arrangement. AVCs paid directly to an AVC PRSA are claimed in myAccount by filing an Income Tax Return and attaching the AVC certificate. Self-assessed people claim on Form 11 through ROS.

Yes. A once-off AVC paid before 31 October can be set against the previous tax year, provided you had unused room in that year. For 2025 the deadline is 31 October 2026, or 18 November 2026 if you both pay and file through ROS. Payroll AVCs cannot be backdated.

No. AVCs only exist inside an occupational pension scheme. If you are self-employed you get the same age-related relief through a PRSA or a personal pension. See our PRSA page and the self-employed and directors page.

They stay linked to your benefits from that scheme, and you can transfer the AVC value to a PRSA at any time. If you have lost track of an old scheme, our pension tracing page explains how to find it, and the pension review page covers the options on leaving a job.

Often, because service-based pensions leave a gap for anyone who joined late or took career breaks. AVCs can fill the lump sum shortfall up to 1.5 times pay and provide extra income through an ARF. Compare them first with buying notional service or referable amounts through your scheme, which has different costs and guarantees.

No. The State Pension (Contributory) depends on your PRSI record, not on private pension savings. In 2026 the maximum personal rate is €299.30 a week, about €15,564 a year, and AVCs sit on top of it.

Quotes and the first consultation are free of charge. Some services, such as a full financial plan, carry a fee, which is agreed in writing before any work starts. Where a provider pays us, that is disclosed before you sign.

Once a year is enough for most people, timed to when the annual benefit statement arrives. The age-related relief limit steps up at 30, 40, 50, 55 and 60, so each of those birthdays is also a reason to look again.

Quotes and the first consultation are free of charge. Some services, such as a full financial plan, carry a fee, which is agreed in writing before any work starts. Where a provider pays us, that is disclosed before you sign.

Usually, if the new scheme accepts transfers in. The old scheme's trustees provide a transfer value, and the new scheme invests it alongside your new contributions. Compare the charges and funds in both schemes first, and check whether the old scheme has any guarantee you would lose.

Yes, when you are leaving that employment or the scheme is winding up. The PRSA provider must be given a certificate comparing the benefits under the scheme and the PRSA, unless the transfer value is under €10,000. AVCs can be moved into a PRSA at any time. Our PRSA page explains how a standard PRSA's charges are capped at 5% of contributions and 1% a year.

A personal retirement bond, also called a buy-out bond, is a policy the trustees of your old scheme buy in your name. It replaces your claim on the scheme and holds the transfer value until you retire. Because it holds benefits from an employment you have left, you can normally access it from 50. It cannot take further contributions.

Rarely. A defined benefit scheme promises an income for life, and the transfer value is what the scheme offers to be released from that promise. Once you transfer, the investment risk and the risk of outliving the money are yours. A transfer can be right where the scheme is in difficulty or your health is poor, but only after a full comparison.

Yes. A defined contribution transfer value is the fund value on the day, so it rises and falls with the funds you hold until the transfer completes. A defined benefit transfer value is recalculated by the scheme's actuary and can change substantially between quotes. The value of your investment may go down as well as up.

Yes, where the Irish scheme is on HMRC's list of qualifying recognised overseas pension schemes. HMRC charges 25% on the transfer unless an exclusion applies, and the main exclusion is that you live in Ireland when you transfer and stay within the rules for five full UK tax years. Our UK pension transfer page sets out the rules with two worked examples.

The latest statement for each pension, a recent payslip if you are in a workplace scheme, and a rough idea of when you want to retire. If you have lost track of a pension, the employer's name and the years you worked there are enough for us to start tracing it.

A qualifying recognised overseas pension scheme is a pension outside the UK that meets HMRC's conditions and has told HMRC it does. A UK pension can only be transferred overseas to a QROPS; a transfer to anything else is an unauthorised payment taxed at 40% or more.

Several Irish PRSAs appear on HMRC's ROPS list, as do personal retirement bonds, a number of occupational schemes and a master trust. Not every Irish product is on the list, so the specific product is checked before any transfer.

A 25% tax that HMRC deducts from a transfer to a QROPS unless an exclusion applies. The main exclusion is that you live in the country the QROPS is based in when you transfer and for five full UK tax years afterwards. Transfers above your overseas transfer allowance, usually £1,073,100, are charged on the excess regardless.

The exclusion from the 25% charge has to keep applying for five full UK tax years after the transfer. If you move to another country in that period, the scheme manager must tell HMRC and the charge can become due.

No. The money moves from one pension wrapper to another. Irish tax applies later, when you draw benefits: the first €200,000 of retirement lump sums is tax free, and income from an ARF or annuity is taxed under PAYE.

If you move within five full UK tax years of the transfer, the exclusion stops applying and the charge can become due. After five years the UK rule falls away, but the fund is now an Irish pension and Irish rules apply to drawing it, wherever you live.

Once the fund is in an Irish pension, Irish lump sum rules apply: 25% of the fund, with the first €200,000 across all your pensions tax free and the next €300,000 taxed at 20%. If you leave the pension in the UK instead, UK rules apply: usually 25%, capped at £268,275.

Quotes and the first consultation are free of charge. Some services, such as a full financial plan, carry a fee, which is agreed in writing before any work starts. Where a provider pays us, that is disclosed before you sign.

Give us the employer's name and your dates. We ask HR or payroll whether you were a scheme member, quoting your PPS number, and if they cannot help we go to the scheme's registered administrator, who holds the member records and must give deferred members a benefit statement each year. For a broker-arranged pension the life company holds the record, and we ask them.

There is no central pension finder in Ireland like the UK's gov.uk service, and the Pensions Authority does not hold your record; it sits with the trustees, the administrator or the life company. True Wealth traces pensions for you: you give us the employer and your dates, we do the searching, and we come back with the statement and your options.

Your PPS number is the key every Irish scheme and life company uses to identify you, so we quote it in every request. On its own it does not open a search, because there is no national database of pensions, so we also need the employer or the provider from you.

Not on its own. The UK's Find pension contact details service works from the name of the employer or the provider. Once we have the scheme's contact details, we write to it with your NI number and dates of employment and it finds your record.

A pension with a known employer and administrator can be confirmed within a few weeks. One where the employer has been dissolved and the scheme wound up takes longer, because the records pass through the administrator, the liquidator or the Pensions Authority. Your signed letter of authority lets us do every step for you.

Quotes and the first consultation are free of charge. Some services, such as a full financial plan, carry a fee, which is agreed in writing before any work starts. Where a provider pays us, that is disclosed before you sign.

Scheme assets are held in trust, separate from the company's, so a liquidation does not take your pension. We check the company's status on the CRO register and go to the scheme's registered administrator, who will know where your benefit went.

Almost always. €5,000 left in a fund at 4% a year net of charges for 20 years would be about €10,950. The value of your investment may go down as well as up, and you only find out where it stands by getting the statement.

Yes, if the new scheme accepts transfers in. The transfer must move the whole benefit, and the statutory right to a transfer payment under the Pensions Act can lapse two years after leaving unless the scheme allows longer, so we ask the old trustees which options are open. A PRB or a PRSA is the alternative.

Yes. Several small pensions can be consolidated into one PRSA or one PRB, or moved into your current scheme, if each scheme allows it. It does not always mean lower charges, so we compare the annual management charge on each first: a standard PRSA is capped at 5% of each contribution and 1% a year of the fund.

What happens next when you get started: a senior advisor provides you with your options.

No. If a self-administered scheme buys a residential property and you or a family member use it, Revenue taxes the money spent on it as a pension payment to you at your marginal rate. A pension can only hold property let to unconnected tenants at arm's length.

No. Children are connected persons, so the scheme cannot buy a property for them to use, buy from them, sell to them or let to them. A property bought for a child's use is taxed on you as a pension payment.

Not for your own use: a holiday property used by you or a connected person is taxed as a pension payment to you. An overseas property let at arm's length is allowed only where the pensioneer trustee can keep control of the asset, which is a high bar.

No. The scheme cannot acquire property from you, your company or any connected person at any price; it can only buy on the open market at arm's length.

Yes. Rent received by a Revenue-approved scheme on a qualifying lease is exempt from income tax under section 774(3) TCA, and USC and PRSI do not arise inside the scheme. For a residential property the tenancy must be registered with the RTB. Tax is paid when you draw the pension.

Not before retirement. From 60 with a PRSA or personal pension, or from 50 with an occupational scheme you have left, you can take 25% of the fund as a lump sum, tax-free up to €200,000, and use it to clear a mortgage. The scheme itself cannot pay your debts.

In some cases, on Revenue's conditions: capital and interest, no longer than 15 years, repaid in full before normal retirement age, with only the property as security and no assignment of the rent. Whether a lender will lend to your scheme, and on what terms, is a question your advisor raises with lenders.

Revenue sets no minimum. The practical floor is the price plus purchase costs, plus enough liquid investments left over to pay benefits when they fall due; a scheme whose only asset is a property does not meet the liquidity condition. Your advisor tells you whether your fund is big enough.

An occupational pension scheme, generally with fewer than 12 members, whose members are usually directors owning more than 20% of the company, and whose trustees, including a Revenue-approved pensioneer trustee, choose the investments directly. The pensioneer trustee co-signs every transaction.

Quotes and the first consultation are free of charge. Some services, such as a full financial plan, carry a fee, which is agreed in writing before any work starts. Where a provider pays us, that is disclosed before you sign.

Tell us what pensions you hold and what you have in mind, and a senior advisor checks it against the rules.

As accurate as its assumptions, and the growth rate is the biggest one. Orla's fund ranges from about €134,000 at 3% to about €281,000 at 7% on the same €250 a month. Plan around the today's money figure rather than the headline.

No. The State Pension (Contributory) is €299.30 a week from January 2026, about €15,564 a year, and you need 40 years of paid PRSI contributions for the full rate. Add it to the income figure.

Relief is at your marginal rate, 20% or 40%, on personal contributions up to an age-related percentage of earnings: 15% under 30, rising to 40% at 60 and over, on earnings up to €115,000. A €1,000 contribution costs €600 at the higher rate and €800 at the standard rate.

The most you can claim relief on is 40% of €115,000, which is €46,000 a year, at age 60 or over. At 30 to 39 it is 20% of €115,000, or €23,000. You can pay more, but the excess gets no relief that year and is carried forward.

Both. The maths is the same whether the money goes into a PRSA, a personal pension, a company scheme or an executive pension. What differs is the charges, the access age and the lump sum rules, which is where a private pension or PRSA comparison comes in. The same maths applies to Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs), counted inside your age-related limit.

Set any retirement age from 50 to 75. A PRSA or a personal pension can pay from 60. An occupational scheme can pay from 50 if you have left that employment. Earlier is possible only on ill health.

It is 25% of the fund at retirement, with the first €200,000 tax free across all your pensions, the next €300,000 at 20% and anything above €500,000 taxed as income. A company scheme can instead use up to 1.5 times final salary with 20 years' service.

Yes. Enter the salary you draw from the company and the company's contribution as the employer contribution. Employer contributions to a PRSA are not a benefit in kind up to 100% of salary, and they do not use up your personal age-related limit.

Roughly. Enter your contribution and the employer's as percentages. My Future Fund uses a State top-up instead of tax relief (1.5% employee, 1.5% employer and 0.5% State in years one to three, on earnings up to €80,000), so the net cost line will not match.

The calculator is on this page for anyone to use. Quotes and the first consultation are free of charge. Some services, such as a full financial plan, carry a fee, which is agreed in writing before any work starts. Where a provider pays us, that is disclosed before you sign.

A senior advisor turns your result into a projection using the real charges and funds open to you, or a review of the pension you already have. What happens next when you get started: a senior advisor provides you with your options.

Employers who do not meet their obligations face fines, penalties and possible prosecution, and withheld or underpaid contributions attract interest. NAERSA will publish a list of employers convicted for non-compliance.

No. Employers who prevent staff joining, or push them to opt out or pause, may be prosecuted and fined. The Workplace Relations Commission deals with staff who are penalised for taking part.

Yes, in months 7 and 8 after enrolment, with a refund of their own contributions. Your contributions and the State's stay in their pot. They are re-enrolled after two years if they still qualify.

If the PRSA is recorded in your payroll, that employment is exempt. If they pay into it outside payroll, they are enrolled in MyFutureFund.

Yes. If you have no scheme, you must still give staff access to at least one standard PRSA.

Yes. Once staff pay into your scheme through payroll, their MyFutureFund contributions stop for that job, and the money already in their pot stays invested. See our workplace pensions page.

Every year, ahead of renewal, with a full review every few years or when the business changes size. Prices, plans and the rules change, and a package set up years ago can drift from the market.

Headcount and salaries, the scheme documents and the latest renewal notices. With a letter of authority from you, we request the rest directly from the providers.

Yes. A letter of authority lets us request the details from the providers. You decide afterwards whether anything moves.

No. Nothing changes until you decide. If you make a change, we help you tell staff what it means for them.

Yes. We set your contribution rates against MyFutureFund's schedule, which starts at 1.5% and rises to 6% by year ten, and show what staff get under each.

Only if you decide to. A review can end with a change of provider, better terms from the current one, or nothing to change.

Yes, if you want it to. Executive pensions, executive income protection and key person cover can be reviewed at the same time, by the same advisor, so the staff package and the directors' cover fit together.

Life cover, and optionally serious illness cover, that the company takes out on someone the business depends on. If that person dies or falls seriously ill, the company receives a lump sum to cover lost profit and the cost of replacing them.

It can be. Revenue allows the premium where the cover is for loss of profit only, it is term cover with no surrender value, and the person insured owns no more than 15% of the company. When the premium is deducted, the payout is taxed as a trading receipt.

A legal agreement between the shareholders, drawn up by a solicitor, that sets out how a shareholder's shares are bought from their estate if they die. The life cover provides the money; the agreement makes sure it is used to buy the shares.

With co-director cover, each shareholder owns cover and the surviving shareholders buy the shares themselves. With a company buy-back, the company owns the cover and buys the shares back. We compare both with your accountant before you choose.

Yes, often more than a larger company does. With two owners, the death of one can leave the other in business with that person's family.

Yes. Key person and shareholder cover can include serious illness cover, so the money is there if an owner cannot come back to work.

When the business value or profits change, and at least every few years. Cover set when the company was smaller can leave a family short and the business exposed.

Enough to cover wages, tax, suppliers and a slow period, plus anything it plans to spend. We build the figure from your own costs and dates rather than a rule of thumb.

It is non-trading income, taxed at 25% corporation tax. A close company that does not distribute its after-tax investment income within 18 months of the year end can also pay a 20% surcharge on it.

Most owner-managed companies are. Your accountant can confirm it. If it is, the surcharge rules apply to undistributed investment and rental income.

Eligible deposits are protected up to €100,000 per depositor per institution under the Deposit Guarantee Scheme. Larger balances can be spread across institutions.

Often, if you will not need it before retirement. The contribution is deductible for the company and is not a benefit in kind. If the business may need the money back, a company investment keeps it on the balance sheet.

Yes. A company can own an investment bond in its own name. Gains are taxed at 25% exit tax when money comes out or every eight years. The value can fall, so it suits money the business will not need for some years.

Yes. A company can own a life assurance investment bond in its own name, invested in funds from an Irish life company. It stays a company asset.

There is no annual tax inside the bond. The life company deducts exit tax at 25% on gains when a chargeable event happens, including every eighth anniversary.

Withdrawals are usually possible, in part or in full, subject to the policy terms. Early exit charges can apply on some funds, and the value may be lower than what went in.

For money needed soon, a deposit is usually the right home. For money the business will not need for five years or more, an investment may grow faster, with the risk that its value can fall.

Deposit interest is investment income. If a close company does not distribute its after-tax investment income within 18 months of the year end, a 20% surcharge can apply. We take that into account when comparing routes.

Often, for money you will not need before retirement. A pension contribution is deductible and is not a benefit in kind, but the money is locked until retirement. A plan uses each route for what it does best.

Company details, a board resolution, and identification for the directors and the people who own the company. We tell you exactly what the provider needs.

Up to 100% of your pay from the company in the calendar year, with no benefit in kind for you and a deduction for the company up to the same amount. Revenue counts salary, bonuses and benefits, and checks the total at 31 December. A director paid €80,000 can have up to €80,000 a year paid in by the company.

The excess over 100% of your pay is a benefit in kind, taxed on you through the company's final payroll return for the year, and the company cannot deduct it. We set the contribution so it stays inside the limit.

Sometimes. The limit follows your pay from the company, so a director paid mostly by dividend has a low PRSA limit. We look at the salary with your accountant, because extra salary is taxed in your hands while the contribution it makes room for is not.

No. Since 2023, the company's contribution is not added to yours. You can still pay in yourself and claim income tax relief at your highest rate, from 15% of earnings under 30 to 40% from 60, on earnings up to €115,000.

Yes. A group PRSA gives each employee their own account with the provider, and the company decides what it pays in for directors and for staff. Staff can add their own contributions through payroll.

Yes, where the PRSA is recorded in payroll and both you and the employee pay in, with at least the lower of 1.5% of gross pay or €1,200 a year from you and at least the lower of 3.5% or €2,800 in total. Our auto-enrolment page has the detail.

It goes with them. The PRSA is owned by the person, who can keep paying into it in a new job or transfer it to another PRSA provider.

From 60, and from 50 in some cases on retiring. At that point 25% of the fund can be taken as a lump sum, with the first €200,000 of lifetime retirement lump sums carrying no tax. The rest can go into an ARF, stay invested in the PRSA or buy an annuity.

The PRSA fund is paid to their estate. There is no income tax on it, and the usual inheritance tax rules apply, with no tax where it passes to a spouse or civil partner. For a lump sum on top, death in service cover can be added through group protection.

A standard PRSA invests in pooled funds only. A non-standard PRSA allows wider investments. If you want the pension to hold property, our property through your pension page sets out the options.

Income protection that a company takes out on a director or key employee. If they cannot work because of illness or injury, the policy pays the company a regular benefit, which the company pays to them as salary.

No. Revenue does not treat it as a benefit in kind where the policy is the company's and the proceeds are paid to the business.

Yes. The premium paid by the company qualifies as a deductible business expense.

Up to 75% of earnings, less the personal rate of State Illness Benefit if the director is entitled to it, subject to each insurer's maximum. Other income protection you hold is taken into account.

The length of time the company could keep paying the director's salary itself. A longer deferred period means a lower premium.

It is paid to the company, which pays it to the director as salary with income tax, PRSI and USC deducted.

Yes, but the total paid across all policies is capped, so holding both can mean paying for cover you could not claim. We check what you hold first.

No, executive income protection needs a company. Sole traders and employees use personal income protection.

Pensions and AVCs, old pensions from previous jobs, protection, mortgages, savings and investing, planning for children, and retirement options. If a question is outside that, the advisor tells the employee where to go.

Yes. What an employee discusses with their advisor stays between them. The employer can receive overall take-up figures, never personal details.

Every employee you include, at every level. Staff can bring a partner to sessions about a mortgage or retirement.

Online, through a booking link we give you to share. They pick a time that suits them, by video or in person.

Yes. True Wealth is a trading name of True Financial Ltd, regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Every recommendation is given in writing.

No. Advice on demand works alongside any pension or health plan you already have, wherever it is held.

Money management and budgeting, pensions and tax relief, auto-enrolment, mortgages, protection, saving and investing, and retirement. We shape each session around your benefits so staff hear about what they have.

Most run 45 to 60 minutes including questions. Pre-retirement sessions can run longer.

No. Workshops are education. Nobody is asked about their own finances in the room, and anyone who wants personal advice books a private one-to-one.

Yes. We run live webinars for remote, hybrid and shift staff, and can mix webinars with on-site sessions.

Qualified advisors from True Wealth, a trading name of True Financial Ltd, regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Yes. Sessions work well timed around Budget day, a pension scheme launch or annual statements, when staff have the most questions.

There is no minimum. On-site sessions suit a team in one room, and a live webinar can take staff from several sites at once. We suggest the format once we know your numbers and locations.

Yes. The employee pays income tax, PRSI and USC on the gross premium through payroll, and claims Medical Insurance Relief at 20% on it.

Yes. The company can claim a deduction for the gross premium it pays for staff.

Every insurer on the Irish market, including Vhi, Laya Healthcare and Irish Life Health. We do not recommend a plan until we have compared them.

Yes. You can include family members on the company plan. The premium the company pays for them is part of the employee's benefit in kind.

Staff who switch from their own policy within 13 weeks keep credit for waiting periods already served. Staff who have never had health insurance can face new member waiting periods, though accidents and injuries are covered from the start.

Yes. An employer can pay for one medical check-up a year for each employee without benefit in kind, where the check-up is available to all staff and is a qualifying type.

Every year, before renewal. Plans and prices change, and a plan chosen years ago may no longer be the best value for your team.

No. When the scheme is set up as a Revenue approved scheme, the premium the company pays is not a benefit in kind, and insurers treat the cover as a tax-free benefit for the employee.

The lump sum can go to the employee's estate, to a beneficiary they nominated, or be distributed at the discretion of the trustees or the employer. It does not have to go to dependants only. We help staff record their wishes when they join.

Not up to the non-medical limit. Everyone joining the scheme is covered automatically up to that level. Above it, the insurer may ask health questions of that person only.

Match it to your sick pay. If you pay full salary for 13 weeks, a 13 week deferred period means the benefit starts as your sick pay ends. A longer deferred period costs less.

Each insurer sets its own minimum group size, and many will quote for small teams. Tell us your headcount and we tell you who will quote.

Cover ends when employment ends. Some insurers let a leaver take out an individual policy without medical questions, which we point out when someone leaves.

Yes. Some insurers offer group specified illness cover, which pays a lump sum on diagnosis of a listed illness. We quote it alongside the other two.

Group rates are usually reviewed at renewal. We check the renewal terms against the market before you accept them.

Company pensions for staff through a group PRSA or a master trust, death in service cover, group income protection and group health insurance. For owners: director pensions, wealth extraction, business protection, executive income protection and company investments. We also run financial advice and education for staff, and review existing benefit packages.

Yes. A group PRSA can be set up for one employee, and we work with small owner-managed businesses and larger employers alike. The planning works the same way for a two-person company as for a large one.

Yes. True Wealth is a trading name of True Financial Ltd, which is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. We are a member of Brokers Ireland.

Every main Irish provider for the product in question. For pensions and protection that includes Irish Life, Zurich, Aviva, New Ireland, Standard Life and Royal London Ireland. For health insurance it includes Vhi, Laya Healthcare and Irish Life Health.

Yes, and we prefer to. Your accountant looks after the company's tax and accounts. We look after where the money goes next: pensions, cover, investments and the exit. Where a plan needs specialist tax advice, we bring it in.

No. Most companies start with one thing, often the staff pension or cover for a director, and add the rest over time. The same advisor keeps the whole picture so each new piece fits the last.

Fill in the form on this page or book a business call at a time that suits you. Freephone 1800 808 808 if you would rather talk it through first.

An occupational pension scheme for many employers under one trust, run by a professional trustee board. Each employer has its own section and decides the contributions, the benefits and who is included. The trustee carries the legal duties, so you and your directors do not.

A new executive pension is now generally set up as a section of a master trust. It keeps the funding rules of the old executive pension, so the company can pay in on salary and service, but the trustee work sits with the master trust instead of with you.

There is no set percentage. The provider calculates the Revenue maximum from your age, salary, service to retirement and the pensions you already hold, and the cost of death in service cover can be added on top. For a director with long service and a short run to retirement, it can be more than a year's salary.

It depends on the numbers. A PRSA lets the company pay up to 100% of your pay each year and is owned by you. A master trust follows the Revenue formula, which can allow more for a long-serving director, and can include death in service cover. We run both. See our company PRSA page.

The exemption for one-member schemes set up before 22 April 2021 ended on 21 April 2026, and any that continue must meet the full IORP II duties. For many, the answer is a move into a master trust or a PRSA. We compare both and handle the transfer.

Yes. A company can run directors' executive pensions and a staff scheme in the same master trust, each with its own contribution rate and rules.

Yes. Insured life cover can be set up within the trust, paying a lump sum of up to four times salary, with a pension or ARF for a spouse, civil partner or dependants. For cover outside the pension, see our group protection page.

At the scheme's normal retirement age, set between 60 and 70. Benefits can start from 50 on leaving the company, but a director with 20% or more must cut all links with the business, including selling the shares. Benefits can be paid at any age on retirement through ill health.

A master trust section invests through the funds the trustee makes available. For a pension that holds property directly, a small self-administered scheme is the usual route; our property through your pension page sets out what it can buy.

The provider's charges are taken from the fund, and the trustee must give six months' notice of any increase. Charges differ between master trusts, so we compare them in euro before you choose.

For money you need now, usually a salary set at the right level. For money you do not need before retirement, usually a company pension contribution. Dividends are often the dearest route because the profit is taxed in the company first.

Into a PRSA, up to 100% of your salary from the company each year with no benefit in kind. Into a master trust, an amount based on your salary, service and existing pensions under Revenue's funding rules, which can be more.

No. Despite the name, you do not need to stop working. You must be 55 or over and meet the ownership and working conditions.

The standard rate of capital gains tax fell from 33% to 31% for disposals on or after 7 October 2026. Entrepreneur relief stays at 10% on up to €1.5 million of lifetime gains, the limit that applies from 1 January 2026.

Ten years out is not too early. Retirement relief needs ten years of ownership and ten years as a working director, five of them full time, so the clock starts long before the sale.

There is no legal obligation to set up or pay into a scheme. If you have no scheme, you must give staff access to at least one standard PRSA. Since January 2026, eligible staff with no workplace pension are also enrolled in MyFutureFund, and you pay employer contributions for them.

A group PRSA works from one employee. A master trust usually suits larger payrolls or a company moving an existing scheme across. We tell you which fits once we see the numbers.

Yes. Directors can be included as employees, often at a higher contribution rate. Owner-directors usually plan their own pension separately; see our director pensions page.

No. Employer contributions to an occupational scheme, a master trust or a PRSA are not a benefit in kind, and no income tax, PRSI or USC is deducted from them. For a PRSA the limit is 100% of the employee's salary.

The provider's charges come out of the fund. A standard PRSA is capped at 5% of each contribution and 1% a year of the fund. Master trust charges vary, so we compare them in euro before you choose.

Yes. Staff who pay into a pension through their job are not enrolled in MyFutureFund for that employment, so setting up your own scheme takes them out of it from then on. Money already in MyFutureFund stays invested in their name.

A group PRSA can usually be live within a few weeks of you choosing a provider. A master trust takes a little longer.

We follow the questions the Pensions Authority sets out for employers: how qualified the trustees are, whether the charges are clear and good value, whether the fund choices and the default are explained, and how members are kept informed.

Yes. A sole trader cannot use a company contribution, but the plan still covers the pension within the personal limits, income protection, the business protection that applies and the exit. If incorporating would save you tax, the plan shows you by how much.

Your accountant looks after the company's tax and accounts, and we work alongside them. The plan is about where the money goes next: your pension, your protection, your investments and your exit, and what each route costs you in tax over the years. Most accountants are glad of it.

For a PRSA, up to 100% of your salary from the company each year without a benefit in kind. For a master trust section, an amount set by Revenue's maximum funding rules, based on your salary, your service and your existing funds, which can be far higher. The plan works out both.

In limited cases. Normal retirement age under a company scheme can be as early as 60, and some arrangements allow access from 50 on leaving service. The plan sets the retirement age that suits the exit you want.

An extra tax on investment and rental income that a closely held company does not distribute within eighteen months of the year end, on top of corporation tax. It is the reason leaving surplus cash to accumulate inside the company is rarely a good plan.

The first review and the plan are provided without a fee, and there is no obligation to act on it. Our terms of business, which you receive before anything is signed, set out how True Wealth is remunerated. Where tax advice is needed from a specialist, it is quoted before any work is done.

Yes, and most owners do. The group scheme has its own page and form; one advisor handles both, so the staff package and your own pension are designed on the same company forecast.

The form takes two minutes and the fact find about twenty. Most owners have their plan within two to three weeks, and the pension contribution can usually be made before the company's year end if that is the aim.

Yes. Any self-employed person can open a personal pension or PRSA and claim income tax relief up to the age-related limit, from 15% of earnings under 30 to 40% at 60 and over, on earnings up to €115,000. A PRSA provider cannot set a minimum contribution above €300 a year.

As much as you like, but relief is limited to 15% of net relevant earnings under 30, 20% at 30 to 39, 25% at 40 to 49, 30% at 50 to 54, 35% at 55 to 59 and 40% at 60 or over, on earnings up to €115,000. A 45-year-old with profits of €80,000 gets relief on €20,000.

No. Your contribution is relieved against income tax on your Form 11 at 20% or 40%, not deducted from trading profit, and USC and PRSI are still charged on the full profit. Only a company's contribution for a director or employee is a trading expense.

31 October 2026, or Wednesday 18 November 2026 if you both file your 2025 Form 11 and pay through ROS. A contribution paid by that date can be elected to count for 2025. Pay first, then elect on the return.

Yes: into a PRSA in your name, an executive pension under a master trust, or a small self-administered scheme. You pay no income tax, USC or PRSI on the contribution, and the company deducts it as a trading expense in the year paid.

Yes. Ordinary annual employer contributions to a Revenue-approved scheme are allowed as an expense in the year paid under section 774 TCA, and PRSA contributions are deductible up to 100% of the director's salary. Revenue may spread a large one-off contribution over up to five years.

It depends on how much the company wants to contribute. An executive pension can be funded to Revenue's salary-and-service maximum. A PRSA is capped at 100% of salary a year from the company but is simpler, portable and has capped charges in its standard form. Many directors run both.

Yes, with enough Class S PRSI. The State Pension (Contributory) is €299.30 a week in 2026 from age 66; the full rate needs 2,080 paid contributions and the minimum is 520. Class S is 4.2% of income until 30 September 2026 and 4.35% from 1 October, minimum €650 a year.

Quotes and the first consultation are free of charge. Some services, such as a full financial plan, carry a fee, which is agreed in writing before any work starts. Where a provider pays us, that is disclosed before you sign.

Tell us whether you are a sole trader or a director and a senior advisor provides you with your options.

Not a company pension specifically. Since January 2026 an employer must either enrol eligible staff in My Future Fund or have them in a qualifying pension scheme at work. Either route meets the law. The question is which one is better for the business and the staff, and that comes down to tax relief, contribution rates and what else you want to include.

A group PRSA can be set up for one employee. Group income protection is available from around three employees, and death in service cover from small headcounts, depending on the provider. There is no minimum size at which it stops being worth doing; a two-person company can run a scheme that costs it less than the equivalent salary.

Yes. Directors can join the company scheme as employees, and a company contribution for a director is deductible in the same way. Owner-directors often run a separate executive pension or master trust section for themselves with a higher contribution rate. Our self-employed and directors page covers that side.

Yes. You decide who is included and from when, for example all staff after six months' service. Part-time employees earning under €20,000 are outside auto-enrolment but can be in your own scheme.

With a group PRSA, the account is the employee's and goes with them; the employer stops contributing. In a master trust, their benefit stays in the scheme or transfers to their new employer's scheme or a PRSA. Death in service and income protection cover ends when employment ends.

No. An employer contribution to an occupational scheme, a master trust or a PRSA is not a benefit in kind, up to 100% of the employee's salary in the case of a PRSA. The employee pays no income tax, USC or PRSI on it going in.

The provider's charges come out of the fund, and for a standard PRSA they are capped by law at 5% of each contribution and 1% a year. There is no separate fee from True Wealth for setting up or running a group pension; our terms of business, which you receive before you sign, set out how True Wealth is remunerated. Death in service, income protection and health insurance are paid for by premium.

A group PRSA or group life scheme can be live within two to four weeks of the quote being accepted. A master trust section takes a little longer. Moving staff across from My Future Fund follows the State scheme's process.

Yes. Group life and income protection premiums rose sharply across the market in 2025, one group life insurer left Ireland at the end of that year and another entered, and several schemes are still on charges set years ago. We review the contribution rates, the charges, the cover levels and the provider against the whole market and tell you whether to leave it, change it or move it.

A company pension (group PRSA or master trust), death in service cover, group income protection, group health insurance, key person and shareholder protection, executive pensions and executive income protection for the directors, and financial planning advice for every employee. Company investments for surplus cash and a business owner financial plan sit alongside them. One advisor, one form, every main Irish provider compared.

Employer pension contributions are deductible, carry no employer PRSI and are not a benefit in kind. Death in service and income protection premiums are deductible for the company and not a benefit in kind for the employee, though an income protection benefit is taxed as income when it is paid. Health insurance premiums paid by the company are deductible but are a benefit in kind for the employee, who claims the medical insurance tax credit. Key person premiums are usually not deductible, and the proceeds are taxable, which is factored into the sum insured.

An employer with a qualifying scheme keeps its staff out of My Future Fund. An employer with no scheme is enrolled and pays 1.5% now, rising to 6% by year ten. The strategic question is whether to run your own scheme at a rate you choose, with 40% relief for higher-rate staff and cover added, or stay in the State scheme and accept its rising cost and limited choice. We put both in euro for your payroll before you decide.

The provider. Contributions go from your payroll to a regulated life company or master trust, into funds in each employee's name. True Wealth never holds client money.

Yes. True Wealth is a trading name of True Financial Ltd, which is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland and is a member of Brokers Ireland. Every advisor who gives you advice holds the qualifications the Central Bank requires, and you can check the firm on the Central Bank's register.

We are whole of market. For pensions, protection, savings and investments we compare every main Irish provider, including Zurich, Irish Life, Aviva, New Ireland, Standard Life and Royal London Ireland, and for health insurance VHI, Laya Healthcare and Irish Life Health. The recommendation is the one that fits you, not one company's range.

Our terms of business, which you receive before anything is signed, set out how True Wealth is remunerated for anything you set up through us. The first review carries no fee and there is no obligation to act on it.

True Wealth is based at Kea Lew Business Park, Portlaoise, Co Laois, and advises clients across Ireland. Most reviews happen by video or phone, and you can come to the office if you prefer.

Yes. Every client is paired with a senior financial advisor from the first question to set-up and the reviews after. You get their direct email and phone number.

Financial advisors, trainee advisors, client service and administration, marketing and operations. Open roles are listed above; when there is nothing that fits, send your CV and we keep it on file for the next one.

For advisor roles you need the QFA or to be working towards it, and we support the study. For client service and administration roles we train you on the job, and the QFA route is open to you if you want it.

True Wealth is based in Portlaoise, Co Laois. Some roles are office based, some are hybrid, and advisors work with clients across Ireland by video, phone and in person.

Open the role above and use the form, or email your CV to the careers address with the role in the subject line. Every application gets a reply by email.

A structured roadmap from trainee to senior advisor, with support for your qualifications, recognition for the work you put in and progression tied to skill, not time served.

Kea Lew Business Park, Portlaoise, Co Laois. We advise clients across Ireland, in person or by video.

No. Most meetings can happen by video at a time that suits you.

Yes. True Wealth is a trading name of True Financial Ltd, regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Yes. Use the booking cards above to choose a personal or business consultation at a time that suits you.