Irish pension with 9k

arccosh

Disclaimer: just looking for what other people would do...I know it's not financial advice to take to heart...


Been out of Ireland a while now,and have a tiny pension left in Ireland, circa £9k...


I'm over 30 years away from pension age, so what can I do with this?



I was told it would eventually whittle away to nothing, which I thought was bullcrap... I also tried to transfer it into my international pension.. which theoretically can be done, but is a nightmare, as I would have to traverse 2 schemes to do so (QROPS crap etc...) and will probably take about half of it in fees and taxes...



I always wanted to get into stocks and shares, maybe this is the way? getting the pension company to invest in a certain portfolio or something??


I know people are going to say speak to a financial advisor... I have gone that route and most won't deal with pension queries involving a pot of less than 100k (I actually got laughed at on the phone by one firm).... one guy did say my most solid method of keeping and growning my cash for a small ammount was to buy long term bonds, but I don't understand why, wouldn't this effectively stunt it's growth?

FastFullBack

arccosh wrote: »

Disclaimer: just looking for what other people would do...I know it's not financial advice to take to heart...


Been out of Ireland a while now,and have a tiny pension left in Ireland, circa £9k...


I'm over 30 years away from pension age, so what can I do with this?



I was told it would eventually whittle away to nothing, which I thought was bullcrap... I also tried to transfer it into my international pension.. which theoretically can be done, but is a nightmare, as I would have to traverse 2 schemes to do so (QROPS crap etc...) and will probably take about half of it in fees and taxes...



I always wanted to get into stocks and shares, maybe this is the way? getting the pension company to invest in a certain portfolio or something??


I know people are going to say speak to a financial advisor... I have gone that route and most won't deal with pension queries involving a pot of less than 100k (I actually got laughed at on the phone by one firm).... one guy did say my most solid method of keeping and growning my cash for a small ammount was to buy long term bonds, but I don't understand why, wouldn't this effectively stunt it's growth?

Put it in an equity fund, with the highest risk profile at your age and one with the lowest fees possible.

Where in the world are you now?

I had a similar problem recently - I went looking for a small pension I had from the UK - similar value.

It turns out that Brexit has a possible impact as within the EU you can transfer a pension pot to another country without tax penalties. (Subject to lots of conditions I'm sure) so if the UK left there might have been a tax risk.

In the end I decided to leave it where it was as the charge on the UK scheme was much lower than anything I could get here in Ireland.

Are you coming back to Ireland?

Liam D Ferguson

Ask the pension company who currently have it to detail exactly what the ongoing charges are. There will probably be an annual charge - a percentage of the fund. If that's around 1% per year or less it's not too bad. If there are also fixed charges, like €X per month or year, then if they're high they could represent a high percentage of your fund.

As has been suggested earlier, at your age you could probably afford to be invested in an equity fund for long-term growth, with the option to switch back to lower-risk funds as you get closer to retirement. Ask the pension company to detail what fund choices you have available.

Is this in an Occupational Pension Scheme? Also known as a Company Pension Scheme, a pension scheme of your old employer. If so, it might be possible to transfer your fund into a Buy-Out Bond in your own name with a provider of your choice.

Jim2007

Deleted User wrote: »

It turns out that Brexit has a possible impact as within the EU you can transfer a pension pot to another country without tax penalties. (Subject to lots of conditions I'm sure) so if the UK left there might have been a tax risk.

Yes BREXIT may have an impact, but the rules are far more complex than why you are saying and no it is not tax free by any means, especially if your pension was in the UK or Ireland. The tax situation is determined by things like if the fund is coming from a so called mandatory 2nd pillar pension or going to a mandatory 2nd pillar pension in an other state and so on.