Equivalent of a tax deferred account in ireland

GeorgeStobort

Looking for the equivalent of a tax deferred account such as a 401k or IRA here in ireland

Henry Ford III

A PRSA or personal pension might be what you are looking for.

Get proper advise though because mistakes are costly.

dennyk

Occupational pensions would be similar to a 401(k), and PRSAs or personal pension schemes would be similar to an IRA. You can avail of tax relief on your contributions to either (or both) up to a certain percentage of your salary, depending on your age. http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/money_and_tax/personal_finance/pensions/ has some good information about all of them.

Pensions are pretty straightforward from an Irish perspective. If you are asking about this because you've moved to Ireland from the US for work, however, please consult with a US tax professional with experience in foreign investments before investing in any Irish pensions or any other investment vehicles here. US taxation of foreign investments is extremely complex and you may require professional assistance to the tune of hundreds or thousands of dollars to file each year to ensure you are reporting all of your foreign investments properly. Getting it wrong, even accidentally, can lead to six-figure fines.

GeorgeStobort

I have 2 questions about work pensions

1. I've worked in 3 previous companies starting off in my career . I'm in my current company 9 years now . Did the pension contributions that I made through my salary follow me when I left each company and if not where does that money go ?

2. If I was to migrate to Australia could I transfer any pension contributions I've made thus far in ireland over there ?

CIARAN_BOYLE

GeorgeStobort wrote: »

I have 2 questions about work pensions

1. I've worked in 3 previous companies starting off in my career . I'm in my current company 9 years now . Did the pension contributions that I made through my salary follow me when I left each company and if not where does that money go ?

Maybe, if not they would remain in the pension funds (in your name) ran by your previous employer.

dennyk

This page has information about your options for your pension funds when leaving a job:

http://www.pensionsauthority.ie/en/LifeCycle/Benefits_payable_on_leaving/

You'd need to contact your previous pension providers to find out how to arrange a transfer to your current pension scheme or PRSA if you'd like, or obtain a refund of your contributions (less tax) if you were in the pension scheme less than two years. Even if you are permitted to leave your funds in the old pension account, you should still contact them to make sure you have access to the account for financial planning purposes, and to update your contact information if you move. You would also want to compare available funds and management fees between your pension plans to decide whether to preserve the funds or transfer them to your current pension or PRSA.

I've no idea if you can move your pension funds to Australia at all, and even if you can, you'd likely take huge penalties and/or a big tax hit for doing so. It would likely be better to leave your Irish funds in your Irish pension account, and talk to an international financial/tax advisor in Australia about whether you'd qualify for pension contributions there and how it might impact your tax situation there and in Ireland. You can still collect from your Irish pension when you retire even if you're living elsewhere (though, again, there may be tax implications in both countries, so consulting with an experienced advisor is essential).