A pension is a long-term savings plan where regular amounts and/or once-off payments are built up into a fund for retirement. Starting a pension is a very important step in your life as it helps to secure your future and provide you with the lifestyle you have planned for when your working life is over.
 
The reality is that the majority of us will need to save a significant amount to maintain our current standard of living when in retirement. So, it is important to take the time to calculate how much you realistically need to save so you can afford the lifestyle you are looking forward to when you retire. The easiest way is to start small and gradually build your fund, increasing contributions when possible.
 
It is never to early to start a pension, in fact the earlier the better!
 
Benefits in setting up your Pension today are:
 
The State Pension is Under Pressure: With the amount of people that will be retiring it places huge pressures on government finances so there is a possibility that the current state pension benefits will not be financially sustainable for the government and as it has been seen the government try to defer the age of when you can claim this benefit, so it is unknown what age you will be when allowed to draw this.
 
Life Expectancy is Increasing: Having 20 years of living from the age that you retire means that you will need a big enough fund to keep you going for those 20 years, so starting a pension now will help in having enough saved.
 
Income Tax relief: For contributions paid into a pension you can claim tax relief meaning you are saving even more! For every €100 invested into a pension, people on a 20% tax rate pay €80 and if you are on a rate of 40% you pay €60.
 
Tax Free Lump Sum: When you retire you can receive 25% of your accumulated fund tax free, up to a limit of €200,000.
 
Variety of Investment Options: Now there are many options available in the market that your pension will be invested in a way to suit you! You can chose from a large variety of funds ranging from Lower risk to higher risk,
 
If you are interested in starting your Pension we have attached below a pension calculator by Zurich Life and if you wish to discuss your options further or even if you want to review your current pension contact us and we will be happy to assist you in ensuring you can achieve your financial goals in retirement. 

If 2020 taught us anything it is to prepare for the unexpected, so we think 2021 is the year for us all to ensure as much preparation is put into place and luckily there are some certain unexpected events we can assist you with to being financially prepared for! 

What unexpected events can we help prepare you for?

A Serious Illness Diagnosis- Being diagnosed with a serious illness isn't something that we think about and so we certainly do not consider the financial impacts this could have on us. Having a serious illness can leave you out of work which reduces the level of income within a household. On top of this you have added medical expenses, be it medications, consultant fees or even surgery, it can all cause added strain and upset. Being diagnosed with a serious illness is an unexpected event that will never be easy for anyone but having Serious Illness Cover in place eases the financial burden that can come with it as with a successful claim for this benefit a lump sum amount will be paid to you which will help to cover a loss of income and aid in paying medical expenses leaving your recovery as your only concern. 

Loss of Income- The income you earn determines the life you lead. It's easy to think of all the ways you use your income; it pays for the day-to-day living expenses and bills that allow you to create a home and provide for your family. In the unexpected event that you could become unable to work due to an illness or an injury. What would happen if it suddenly stopped? The current State Illness Benefit is €198 per week, will this be enough keep your current lifestyle? If you are self-employed there is no State Illness Benefit available leaving you with no regular income, having to rely on any savings and investments. Having Income Protection in place can help protect your lifestyle, limiting the financial consequences of suffering an illness or injury which prevents you from working, by providing you with a replacement income while you are out of work. 

Death- In the event of your untimely demise, it could cause a huge financial weight for your loved ones. This brings to them the expenses of your funeral, any outstanding debts you may have along with the loss of your income. Life Cover eases these stresses by providing your estate with a lump sum payment in the event of your death which can be used to cover the initial expenses and also the day-to-day expenses going forward meaning that your family can continue with the lifestyle you have provided to them. 

Death or Serious Illness Diagnosis of a Child- It is definitely not something we even want to think of having to prepare for but once you have  Life Cover and/or Serious Illness Cover in place for yourself you are also protecting your children, free of charge, with Life Cover of up to €7,000 and up to €25,000 Serious Illness Cover. 

Other events you can prepare for under a simple Life Cover Policy are:
The requirement of a surgery, if you have the Surgical Cash Benefit on your policy an amount will be paid in the event of you needing a specified surgery.
The need for hospitalisation  your policy will pay for any hospital stay over 3 days once the Hospital Cash Benefit is included in your policy. Yous children are also provided with this benefit once it is included win your policy. 
If a break or fracture occurs following an injury and you have the Broken Bones Benefit your policy can pay up to €3,000 if your injury is one of the ones listed. 
If you have an Accident that requires you to be out of work for over 2 weeks you can receive a weekly payment of up to half your weekly income by including the Personal Accident Benefit to your policy. 

Lastly, any financial loss can be eased with the assistance of building up a Savings that can be accessed when required. We would always recommend having some savings in place but for some unexpected events a savings may not last as long as might be needed. It can be very hard to save what a Protection policy can provide so we would recommend having a Protection Policy set up along with your Savings Plan. 

​Our premiums start from €10.10 per month. We are also still running our promotion which offers up to 17.5% off Protection Products, so why not contact us today to start your preparation for the unexpected! 

*All applications are subject to acceptance terms following full medical disclosure.