cornmarket, salary protection and avcs

amacca

Hi all, just looking for some opinions.

I used to be a teacher, gf currently is one and had a visit from a cornmarket rep recently.

He mentioned two products that might be of interest to her, these were salary protection and an avc scheme as she is a new entrant, cant retire at 55 without suffering the consequences of very reduced pension etc.

To me both schemes seemed good but I was just wondering if any people here have experience of either and if they think they are beneficial.

Are there any sneaky terms and conditions on the salary protection that mean you might pay the premium but not be able to avail of the benefit, is it very expensive compared to similar schemes from other companies or is it pretty good as it looks to me.

With avc, surely this is a good long term savings scheme with the tax relief that goes with it. Surely it would still be fairly good even if they were to reduce the rate of relief to the low rate in the future or am I missing something. would tax penalty on the lump sum in future possibly negate the benefit when you pay in etc.....not expecting people to predict the future but just wondering what peoples thoughts are because I used to work in finance as well and have an instinctive distrust of people that try to sell me financial products but afraid this gut reaction could influence gf wrong way so just want to do some research and get some informed opinions from as many sources as possible.

In my opinion

amacca wrote: »

Hi all, just looking for some opinions.

I used to be a teacher, gf currently is one and had a visit from a cornmarket rep recently.

He mentioned two products that might be of interest to her, these were salary protection and an avc scheme as she is a new entrant, cant retire at 55 without suffering the consequences of very reduced pension etc.

To me both schemes seemed good but I was just wondering if any people here have experience of either and if they think they are beneficial.

Are there any sneaky terms and conditions on the salary protection that mean you might pay the premium but not be able to avail of the benefit, is it very expensive compared to similar schemes from other companies or is it pretty good as it looks to me.

With avc, surely this is a good long term savings scheme with the tax relief that goes with it. Surely it would still be fairly good even if they were to reduce the rate of relief to the low rate in the future or am I missing something. would tax penalty on the lump sum in future possibly negate the benefit when you pay in etc.....not expecting people to predict the future but just wondering what peoples thoughts are because I used to work in finance as well and have an instinctive distrust of people that try to sell me financial products but afraid this gut reaction could influence gf wrong way so just want to do some research and get some informed opinions from as many sources as possible.

Salary protection is expensive but a must. If you only knew the number of people who benefit from it.

Agree AVCs are an effective savings method,

Enright

Aggree re salary protection

jury is still out on avc's

Its generally agreed in our staff room that purchasing notional service is a better option,

But agree with the opinion that its a form of saving, and with stocks at record lows at the moment, they can only increase. (now where have i heard that before?)

E.T.

You should be aware that Cornmarket take a huge chunk of fees from you during the first year of your AVC, I didn't realise at all how much it was - I think it was most of what I'd actually put in to the AVC for the first year. If you do go with an AVC ask for a written schedule of fees detailing exactly how much will be taken out.

corcaighcailin9

I'd be very wary about signing up to anything with Cornmarket. As ET said, they get commission on EVERYTHING they sell to you. I had a very bad experience with a rep who tried to get me to sign up to everything from AVC to SP and to change my health insurance. He was extremely insulting when I didn't sign up to any of them.

SP is a total waste of money IMO. They might flatter you with figures of how much they pay out but I have heard so many stories of people who got sick and tried to claim what they felt was owed to them only for the Cornmarket doctor to say they were fit for work in spite of their own doctors and DES doctors saying they weren't ready to go back. I think they scare people into buying SP tbh.

Just on AVC vs NSP, it seems that NSP is a better option for the majority of people looking to boost their pension but Cornmarket won't tell anyone about this. NSP is less risky as you are buying back years from the DES as opposed to paying into an AVC scheme which relies on the stock market - obviously these have plummeted in value of late. You can also devise a plan which combines AVC and NSP.

If I were you, I'd get advice from a financial expert as to what is the best option for you. After all, aside from your house, your pension is the most expensive thing you will ever buy.

Good luck.

amacca

tks all, I appreciate the replies. talked to gf she said that the cornmarket rep explained nsp to her and as she was 26 when she joined profession and that was after 2004 her retirement age was 65 and to get full service she would have to work until she was 66 so she could only buy back 1 year under the nsp so it is not of much use to her.

She says she will do more research on the nsp but does the above sound right? are you limited to only buying back years you have to work over and above the retirement age of 65 to get the full pension....if you know what I mean given how akwardly ive phrased above. to put it another way can you buy back so you can retire before 65 even if youre classed as a new entrant and have a retirement age of 65.

once again tks, if it turns out that rep was being economical with truth about nsps then Im fairly glad I asked.

E.T.

If you have a look using the search button on the Irish teachers site www.educationposts.com there's been a good few threads about cornmarket with a lot of first-hand experiences with them.

smcgiff

WHAT? 26 is very young to start a pension. Without going into specific rules you need a max of twenty years pension payments to qualify for the full statutory pension. And her private pension should be significant if she started at 26.

I would differ on the salary protection advice. I'd personally favour putting the equivalent money into your own savings account (self insurance effectively) and build up an emergency fund. But it's down to everyone's particular level of risk aversion. Personally I hate financial insurance products - Companies make an absolute fortune on them.

In my opinion

smcgiff wrote: »

WHAT? 26 is very young to start a pension. Without going into specific rules you need a max of twenty years pension payments to qualify for the full statutory pension. And her private pension should be significant if she started at 26.

I would differ on the salary protection advice. I'd personally favour putting the equivalent money into your own savings account (self insurance effectively) and build up an emergency fund. But it's down to everyone's particular level of risk aversion. Personally I hate financial insurance products - Companies make an absolute fortune on them.

Ignore above it's not correct.

We pay pension from Day 1 in service. 40 years to get full pension i.e half salary. That's part of reason our pension is better than private sector they are not paying in at 21 years of age!!!!

Full statutory pension is the PRSI one I presume on an A class stamp.

smcgiff

In my opinion wrote: »

Ignore above it's not correct.

Apologies - didn't know there were different rules for public sector.

corcaighcailin9

amacca wrote: »

tks all, I appreciate the replies. talked to gf she said that the cornmarket rep explained nsp to her and as she was 26 when she joined profession and that was after 2004 her retirement age was 65 and to get full service she would have to work until she was 66 so she could only buy back 1 year under the nsp so it is not of much use to her.

She says she will do more research on the nsp but does the above sound right? are you limited to only buying back years you have to work over and above the retirement age of 65 to get the full pension....if you know what I mean given how akwardly ive phrased above. to put it another way can you buy back so you can retire before 65 even if youre classed as a new entrant and have a retirement age of 65.

once again tks, if it turns out that rep was being economical with truth about nsps then Im fairly glad I asked.

That's total BS from the research I've done. I entered the system after April 2004 as well so, like your gf, I have to work til I'm 65 to get my full pension. The NSP will allow me to get out on full pension when I want after the age of 55(I'm thinking 58, maybe 59)

Everyone's situation is different - based on the age they started and what they want out of their pension. I would advise her to contact the INTO if she's a member. They will be able to direct her to someone in the union who can best advise her what to do next. If she's not a member, she should meet with a financial advisor who knows the system and can devise the best plan for her needs - either an NSP, AVC or combination of both.

amd82

I'm a newly qualified teacher interested in some of the services cornmarket provide such as car and health insurance...wondering if they charge an initial consultation fee and/or an annual fee on top of the policies you decide to go with?

spurious

amd82 wrote: »

I'm a newly qualified teacher interested in some of the services cornmarket provide such as car and health insurance...wondering if they charge an initial consultation fee and/or an annual fee on top of the policies you decide to go with?

If you're in a school, get your union rep to contact them and they will send someone to spend a day in your school available to talk to anyone who wants to talk to them. There is no fee for their visit.

ytareh

I thought the notional service purchase scheme had closed to new entrants, for secondary school anyway.Anyone got more info or a link?

ytareh

I thought the notional service purchase scheme had closed to new entrants, for secondary school anyway.Anyone got more info or a link?