Contractor - Setting Up Pension Advice

Dante · 15-05-2021 12:50pm #1

I'm an IT contractor looking to set up a pension and looking for advice.

Can anyone recommend any decent brokers? I see Davy and LABrokers.ie mentioned quite a bit so will check them out. Anybody else?
What are reasonable fees? The first place I tried had a 2% monthly contribution fee and a 1% annual charge which seems unnecessarily high to me.
From my reading online, a non-standard PRSA seems the most appropriate for my situation, anything I need to be aware of or look out for with these?

Ush1 · 15-05-2021 8:01pm

I got a Zurich pension through Alpha Wealth in Cork. They are very reasonable and happy to answer any questions.

retalivity · 15-05-2021 8:26pm

I got zurich as well, think the AMC is 0.75%.
Been very happy with them, no complaints.

Dante · 15-05-2021 8:53pm

retalivity wrote: »

I got zurich as well, think the AMC is 0.75%.
Been very happy with them, no complaints.

Did you need to go through a broker or do Zurich do it all for you?

retalivity · 15-05-2021 9:11pm

DaaaaaaaaaaN wrote: »

Did you need to go through a broker or do Zurich do it all for you?

I got in touch with Zurich directly, dealt with one of their reps on it.
This was 3-4 years back, he's still the go-to guy if I have any questions or lump sum top-ups, etc.

Geuze · 15-05-2021 11:30pm

DaaaaaaaaaaN wrote: »

Did you need to go through a broker or do Zurich do it all for you?

Note that it is very likely that going direct to Zurich will involve higher fees than using a discount broker.

colm_c · 16-05-2021 10:49am

Try to setup an executive pension rather than a PRSA.

It's treated as an occupational pension.

So you get no limits on contributions.

Davy offer it, I think some others too.

Henry Ford III · 16-05-2021 11:40pm

colm_c wrote: »

Try to setup an executive pension rather than a PRSA.

It's treated as an occupational pension.

So you get no limits on contributions.

Davy offer it, I think some others too.

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

1/. EPP funding limits do exist but they are quite generous.

2/. A key attraction of the EPP is the possibility of accessing benefits from age 50.

3/. Almost everybody (except Royal London) offer EPP's.

p.s. Davy's have had a bit of negative press recently and have been heavily fined by the Central Bank too. They are also up for sale.

Henry Ford III · 16-05-2021 11:42pm

Geuze wrote: »

Note that it is very likely that going direct to Zurich will involve higher fees than using a discount broker.

That's true but it'll be from a tied agent so by it's nature is limited.

It'll still be better than what you'll get from a discount broker i.e. none.

Dante · 16-05-2021 11:49pm

Thanks folks, will do some digging tomorrow.

blindside88 · 17-05-2021 8:43am

Not sure if it’s allowed.......

No it's not

Dante · 19-05-2021 10:33pm

Anyone have any experience with the Zurich Prisma managed funds? A couple of advisors have suggested these to me now, they seem quite steady based on past performance and appear to have low fees compared to what I was quoted in the original post (1% AMC and 100% allocation).

blindside88 · 19-05-2021 10:35pm

DaaaaaaaaaaN wrote: »

Anyone have any experience with the Zurich Prisma managed funds? A couple of advisors have suggested these to me now, they seem quite steady based on past performance and appear to have low fees compared to what I was quoted in the original post (1% AMC and 100% allocation).

They’re a good steady fund. Nice and easy to understand and move down along the risk scale with over time as well. You won’t go far wrong with Zurich

Dante · 19-05-2021 10:40pm

blindside88 wrote: »

They’re a good steady fund. Nice and easy to understand and move down along the risk scale with over time as well. You won’t go far wrong with Zurich

Cheers for the reply, thats good to know! What is the general consensus on active vs passive funds? Do active managed funds actually perform better over time or is it a bit of a gimmick?

blindside88 · 19-05-2021 10:54pm

DaaaaaaaaaaN wrote: »

Cheers for the reply, thats good to know! What is the general consensus on active vs passive funds? Do active managed funds actually perform better over time or is it a bit of a gimmick?

A lot of it is down to personal preference, in a lot of cases you will pay a slightly higher management charge for an actively managed fund. What you need to do is look back over past performance and see if the historical performance can justify the additional management charge. A lot of the passive funds have very good risk mechanisms in place like dynamic share to cash so I have no issue in putting clients into passive funds

TP_CM · 19-05-2021 11:06pm

I got a financial advisor friend to set up a fund with Zurich for a once off fee (750 euro or something). So no broker fees going forward which saves massively over time.

lukonmaki · 20-01-2022 12:34am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117211388#Comment_117211388

Hi,

Is this possibly a service your friend provides?

I'd be interested in looking into something similar.

TP_CM · 20-01-2022 12:46am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118503638#Comment_118503638

I'm afraid not, sorry. He was nearing retirement and worked as our family's accountant for decades. It was a once off type thing. But that's not to say it doesn't exist. Google might help you find someone, or maybe even on LinkedIn.

Henry Ford III · 20-01-2022 11:44am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118503638#Comment_118503638

Any broker (worth his salt) can potentially set up a pension on a fee basis. It really depends if the proposal is worth the time and compliance costs.

p.s. To ensure maximum efficiency any fee should be paid out of the pension fund.

SomeGuyCalledMi · 21-01-2022 2:14pm

Im an IT contractor too. My broker helps themselves to 5% of whatever I put into my pension. Plus they get around €100 per month for some unknown reason. Is this normal? Can I just ask Aviva to stop paying it to them? Thanks in advance.

AndrewJRenko · 21-01-2022 3:37pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118511754#Comment_118511754

You need a better deal. You can talk to your current broker to call them out and see if they can do better, or you can just stop those payments and start again to find a better deal.

Henry Ford III · 21-01-2022 3:44pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118511754#Comment_118511754

5% pays everything and everyone, not just the broker.

Dante · 21-01-2022 11:23pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118511754#Comment_118511754

That sounds extortionate!

Contractor - Setting Up Pension Advice

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