Starting a pension at 30

robocode

Having been tied up studying (and then working as an underpaid research assistant) for most of my twenties, now that I turn 30 I'm starting to worry about not having paid into any pension plan.

I'm working in the public sector, but am ineligible for the public sector pension because I only started the job last year. I did some part time work years ago in a college so was technically public sector then, but I'm told that doesn't make me eligible.

So essentially, I'm wondering what is the best route for me to approach starting a pension now. Who do I talk to? Should I throw as much money as possible at it now to catch up on not having one since my early twenties?

xtraxtra

in the same boat myself, interested to hear any advise here!

brendane

Why wouldn't you be entitled to a public sector pension. I thought the only changes they made was that it was to be based on your average career salary rather than solely your final salary

robocode

brendane wrote: »

Why wouldn't you be entitled to a public sector pension. I thought the only changes they made was that it was to be based on your average career salary rather than solely your final salary

Something to do with new entrants to the public sector (new being those that joined after 2012 I think) being ineligible

KingBrian2

Not employed nearing my 30's so not concerned about pension at all at this early stage.

needhelpguy

I'm 30 myself and only started a pension last year. It's not too old at all. By the time me and you retire, retirement age will be 70! So there's 40 years left to save up. Compound interest is great.

EDIT: Speak to a pension advisor about setting up your own.

Konata

robocode wrote: »

Something to do with new entrants to the public sector (new being those that joined after 2012 I think) being ineligible

I joined public sector in October (1st proper job) and my salary is being deducted for pension contribution & levy every month? Where in public sector do you work? Who told you you werent eligible?

Atlantic Dawn

Main benefit to a pension is that you gain tax relief on contributions, these increase based on your age.

Age Amount which qualifies for tax relief
Under 30 years 15% of net relevant earnings
30 to 39 years 20%
40 to 49 years 25%
50 to 54 years: 30%
55 to 59 years 35%
60 and over 40%

goldenhoarde

Konata wrote: »

I joined public sector in October (1st proper job) and my salary is being deducted for pension contribution & levy every month? Where in public sector do you work? Who told you you werent eligible?

yeah check your payslip and see what deductions are being made?

Is it a full time position or a fulltime contract for X number of years?

You maybe be in a different type of scheme.

Are you in the union? if so ask them, otherwise contact payroll

A_Sober_Paddy

with the global economic unrest/uncertainty?

what is the best type of pension to look at?

Alan152

Are you just making contributions yourself or will your employer also contribute?

A_Sober_Paddy

Alan152 wrote: »

Are you just making contributions yourself or will your employer also contribute?

Just myself

robp

Participation rates are low. I'd wonder if the average 29 YO worker has a pension.

RedXIV

robp wrote: »

Participation rates are low. I'd wonder if the average 29 YO worker has a pension.

Average 29 YO worker here

Started my pension proper about 2 years ago. Have maxed it out for under 30s because it was annoying me how much I was getting taxed anyway.

OP, public sector have pension contributions automatically deducted so I'd be checking this with your payslip if possible?

Lux23

I joined the public service in 2015 and I started paying into my pension straight away? I doubt you're ineligible if you're permanent?

Drumpot

Ask family and friends if they know any reputable financial adviser or broker. It's can be cheaper using a broker because they can have more flexibility in what they can offer then if you go directly to a pension provider.

There are online discount brokers who offer you deals if you make certain choices (company - fund) and brokers who will offer you fee based options.

the big benefits of a pension are the tax relief, tax free growth and tax free lump sum at retirement. There are also death in service benefits (4times salary tax free to estate) in many pension products.

Pensions aren't perfect and I find people switch off at pension presentations but you are well ahead of the average curve by starting to save now.

You always hear from the people who have had bad experiences from pensions. But you seldom hear from people who have had good ones because they are too busy enjoying their retirement. Don't let negative people put you off doing a pension. Investigate what you are told (good or bad) and see if you can come to an objective conclusion.

Lastly, do regular (every 2 years or so) reviews of your pension. A big reason people lose so much can be because they do not know how risky their pension fund is at any given stage. Ask what the worst top-bottom loss at any given time was in the fund you are invested in. This doesn't guarantee that this will be the worse you will do but it's a decent guide. 2007 and 2008 year on year performances are good indicators of worst year!

It sounds daunting but if you get a good adviser or educate yourself enough to be confident, you can invest in a good long term strategy. Oh and charges are not always as important as fund performance. Some funds have higher management fees (like GARS) and they have easily justified them.

Good luck.

Walter H Price

Definitely not to old to make a start - average age for starting pensions is around 30... Talk to a financial advisor and start putting max amounts that you can afford in... Maybe split it 75% low risk 25% high risk - pensions are fairly stable at the moment so 5 years with 25% high risk could give a fairly decent return and your only risking a small amount, thats what our pension advisor recommended

anewme

I did not start till I was 30! Sorry I did not start earlier. Im mid 40's now.

Friends who started mid twenties have a huge pot now even if they paid a pittance in at the start while I still have some shortfall to make up.

Merowig

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/special-reports/11837694/The-pension-freedom-mistake-that-will-halve-your-pension-pot.html

http://financialmentor.com/retirement-planning/mistakes/18212?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Financialmentorcom+%28FinancialMentor.Com%29

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/finance/investment-library/guides/11317475/common-pension-mistakes.html

Some of the advise is tailored towards the UK/US - but the majority of it is applicable to many other countries.

Henry Ford III

You're never too old to start a pension, but it's easier if you start as early as possible.

Imagine cycling up a hill - the more distance (time) you have to make the climb (to your target) the less steep (cost) the incline will be.

p.s. It's possible in an employer sponsored arrangement to clean out the entire pension fund in tax free cash. T's and C's apply obviously.

robocode

Thanks for all the input. For those wondering why I can't get the public sector pension, I'm in a research role and the rules currently say that researchers are not admitted to the Education Sector Superannuation Scheme. I can, however, go down to the standard Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA) route, which I need to look into more.

dearg lady

I'm surprised you're not entitled to join the public sector pension, but you may find you are better off with a PRSA anyway. If you can I would contribute the max allowable for tax relief, you might as well!

robocode

robocode wrote: »

............Who do I talk to? Should I throw as much money as possible at it now to catch up on not having one since my early twenties?

xtraxtra wrote: »

in the same boat myself, interested to hear any advise here!

At 30 you can put 20% of your gross salary into a pension plan, that may or may not be affordable. If affordable I would advise putting in the maximum especially if you are earning in the higher rate.

Personally what I would look for is
- low management fee (circa 1%)
- no contribution charges (some plans take 3 to 5% of what you contribute there and than and also have management fees, bizarre that people sign up for that sort of plan nowadays but such is life. Ignoring inflation a 3% contribution fee on a max funded pension fed from a €60k salary amounts to €50k+ over a 30 year term if you increase contributions in line with your maximum allowed contributions and the fund grows by 6% (realistic figure) on average per annum. It's actually over 3% of the total fund which isn't unsurprising but the likes of IrishLife etc try and claim it's a tiny amount overall)
- the money to be invested in low cost ETFs from iShares & Vanguard etc
- equity based investments are sold as high risk as the stock market dips frequently and plunges relatively often (2001, 2008, now ish for example), if you take a longterm view that's not overly worrying. Could spend forever thinking/reading/studying the subject.
- most invested in Euroland
- maybe 5% or so in the US$ and UK£ in time when the Euro buys lots of that stuff, not now as we all know.
- diversification, you'd only want maybe 2% of your pot to be in any individual company (that's one of the reasons why ETFs are good)

If anyone is trying to get you to sign up to a pension with 3/5% contibution charge and an total annual management fee over 1.5% or so I'd be inclined to keep looking around.

Merowig

Augeo wrote: »

Personally what I would look for is
- low management fee (circa 1%)
- no contribution charges (some plans take 3 to 5% of what you contribute there and than and also have management fees, bizarre that people sign up for that sort of plan nowadays but such is life. Ignoring inflation a 3% contribution fee on a max funded pension fed from a €60k salary amounts to €50k+ over a 30 year term if you increase contributions in line with your maximum allowed contributions and the fund grows by 6% (realistic figure) on average per annum. It's actually over 3% of the total fund which isn't unsurprising but the likes of IrishLife etc try and claim it's a tiny amount overall)
- the money to be invested in low cost ETFs from iShares & Vanguard etc
- equity based investments are sold as high risk as the stock market dips frequently and plunges relatively often (2001, 2008, now ish for example), if you take a longterm view that's not overly worrying. Could spend forever thinking/reading/studying the subject.
- most invested in Euroland
- maybe 5% or so in the US$ and UK£ in time when the Euro buys lots of that stuff, not now as we all know.
- diversification, you'd only want maybe 2% of your pot to be in any individual company (that's one of the reasons why ETFs are good)

Could you please name a specific PRSA (with 1% fee and no contribution fee) with an ETF from Vanguard?

The only option I was able to find is with Davy - who are charging 0.75% plus overseas and custody charges per transaction (0.1% + 25 Euros) - which doesn't make it attractive for regular small contributions in comparison to a fund who just charges 1% per year.

Merowig

Merowig wrote: »

Could you please name a specific PRSA (with 1% fee and no contribution fee) with an ETF from Vanguard?

The only option I was able to find is with Davy - who are charging 0.75% plus overseas and custody charges per transaction (0.1% + 25 Euros) - which doesn't make it attractive for regular small contributions in comparison to a fund who just charges 1% per year.

Using the Davy platform seems as you mention it...........
Vanguard FTSE Developed Europe UCITS ETF (EUR)
.... no overseas charge and the custody charge is indeed €25, the annual management fee is 0.12%, to minimise the effect of the custody charge I would buy in €2500 increments. You can make small regular contributions to the account allowing them to accumulate.

I didn't detail it but managing contributions to minimise custody charges to 1% is imo far superior to paying 3%+ contribution fees.

What fund do you have in mind that just charges 1% per year?

Also purchasing the........ Vanguard FTSE 100 UCITS ETF (GBP)........ has no overseas or custody charge, I bought 8 units of them when the £ dropped in value relative to the €.

If that attracted the €25 custody fee I wouldn't have bothered.

I wouldn't think having lots of your pension in sterling is a good idea for a ROI based person though.

Can do the same for the Word Equity Vanguard ETFs listed on the LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE, no Custody charges.

Merowig

Merowig wrote: »

Could you please name a specific PRSA (with 1% fee and no contribution fee) with an ETF from Vanguard?..........

I'd go with iShares listed on the London Stock Exchange if I was a small regular contributor.
Apologies for the multi posts but it was only after answering the Vanguard question I thought of the other option.

Merowig

Augeo wrote: »

Using the Davy platform seems as you mention it...........
Vanguard FTSE Developed Europe UCITS ETF (EUR)
.... no overseas charge and the custody charge is indeed €25, the annual management fee is 0.12%, to minimise the effect of the custody charge I would buy in €2500 increments. You can make small regular contributions to the account allowing them to accumulate.

I didn't detail it but managing contributions to minimise custody charges to 1% is imo far superior to paying 3%+ contribution fees.

What fund do you have in mind that just charges 1% per year?

Any PRSA with contribution charges is for me out of the question - in my opinion its robbery.

I found through this board about http://www.labrokers.ie/pensions/


So its 0.75% + 0.12% + 25 Euro for Vanguard FTSE Developed Europe UCITS ETF (EUR) - acording to my Maths this is still a higher charge than the 1% flat charge from Zurich or Irish Life - even with buying larger increments.

As you mentioned later the Vanguard FTSE 100 UCITS ETF and the Word Equity Vanguard ETF - what are the ETF Annual Management Charges for both? (I don't have any account with Davy yet and they are not publishing that on their website directly.)

Is there a stamp duty / tax on that ones or any additional charges? http://www.davyselect.ie/binaries/content/assets/davyselect/pdfs/execution-only-fees-charges.pdf#page=8
As I have no clue if the taxes / stamp duties on Irish and UK shares are also applicable on ETFs.


I try to set up a PRSA for my fiancee - myself am sorted out for now with a very generous company DC scheme and a previous PRSA I got through the same employer
The Pension authority told me after my insistance that they will email me an overview of all PRSAs and their charges by the end of the month...

I don't know yet to which country we are going to retire to - nor for how long we are staying in Ireland (neither of us is Irish - on my list for retirement (which is still far away in the future ) are London/ Paris/Rome/Cote D'Azur/ South Germany and Romania) - so GBP could be OK

Merowig

Merowig wrote: »

.............


So its 0.75% + 0.12% + 25 Euro for Vanguard FTSE Developed Europe UCITS ETF (EUR) - acording to my Maths this is still a higher charge than the 1% flat charge from Zurich or Irish Life - even with buying larger increments.

True, so you can go with a Blackrock, iShares Euro Equity ETF

Merowig wrote: »

.............As you mentioned later the Vanguard FTSE 100 UCITS ETF and the Word Equity Vanguard ETF - what are the ETF Annual Management Charges for both? (I don't have any account with Davy yet and they are not publishing that on their website directly.)

Vanguard FTSE 100 UCITS ETF Annual Management Fee 0.09%
Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF Annual Management Fee 0.25%

Merowig wrote: »

.............Is there a stamp duty / tax on that ones or any additional charges? http://www.davyselect.ie/binaries/content/assets/davyselect/pdfs/execution-only-fees-charges.pdf#page=8
As I have no clue if the taxes / stamp duties on Irish and UK shares are also applicable on ETFs.

Nope as they are listed on the London Stock Exchange, the €25 fee is because that EFT is "abroad", ie not Ireland or the UK.

Merowig

Thanks a million for your help!

Merowig

Merowig wrote: »

...............

I found through this board about http://www.labrokers.ie/pensions/.........

The Zurich product is competitive cost wise, but it's not overly flexible. Also you are relying on

"Default Investment Strategy" that targets growth in the early years but changes to a lower risk portfolio as retirement approaches.
A more individualised profile can be designed through investing in a selection of the funds available (PDF - 93k). The funds are listed as 'Standard PRSA' (in blue)"

Like many funds they are taking the view that growth should be targetted in the early years so they'll invest the bulk in equities, see average returns or above average and than try to get out as retirement approaches.

So if you are 30 their plan is the wait until you are 50/55 to allocate funds to lower risk, great tactic if the market doesn't lose lots of value at any stage in the next 20 years.

Those LA broker folk are getting "Out of this 1% annual management charge LABrokers are paid a commission of 0.25% by Zurich." to manage a fairly crude strategy.

In the Zurich document https://www.zurichlife.ie/bgsi/servlet/DocArchServlet?docId=PN_PRSA_BR&docTag=&randint=H86F&docType=.pdf they've a case study of a 47 year old self employed dentist that they've set up with a PRSA, seems a strange strategy as he should be able to set up an Executive Pension Plan and get tax relief on PRSI and USC as well as the PAYE tax relief a PRSA offers.

Merowig

Merowig wrote: »

Thanks a million for your help!

No problem at all, I'm not in the industry but it's an interest/hobby of mine and I did extensive research a while ago when shopping about myself.

Merowig

All PRSAs must have a "Default Investment Strategy" (page 26 http://www.pensionsauthority.ie/en/Publications/Information_Booklets/PRSAs_-_a_consumer_and_employers'_guide.pdf ) - though you always have additional options - you can allocate a % to different funds in different markets.

Am checking now with Davy directly about minimum contributions and if contributions can be paused at any time - and am waiting for the pensions authority to come back to me with the requested overview.

So far it looks it will be either one of the low cost options from Zurich or Irish Life - or a Vanguard or Black Rock ETF through Davy.

In regards to long term performance of the general stock markets
http://moneyboss.com/stock-market-returns/
http://www.finfacts.ie/stockperf.htm

With the historical low interest rates we have currently - which look to stay with us for a while - I don't see any alternative to equities.

Merowig

Merowig wrote: »

............
So far it looks it will be either one of the low cost options from Zurich or Irish Life - or a Vanguard or Black Rock ETF through Davy.

In regards to long term performance of the general stock markets
http://moneyboss.com/stock-market-returns/
http://www.finfacts.ie/stockperf.htm

With the historical low interest rates we have currently - which look to stay with us for a while - I don't see any alternative to equities.

I've been at a few investment seminars so far in 2016, all of the speakers mimic your feelings. They all mentioned that Gov/Cor Bonds are effectively untouchable due to low returns. For me the benefit of equity alternatives is the initial amount is largely protected.

Whenever everyone is singing from different hymn sheets but saying the same thing I do wonder is it perhaps wise to think about staying away the herd to an extent (even a small % extent)

For anyone starting a pension it matters little what the market does shorterm though, always important to remember that.

Merowig

Chances are that at some point we will see again a larger crash of the stock markets - but that included makes shares still more attractive than bonds over the long term. People who didn't sell during 2008 are back into the profit zone afaik.

For German bonds you have even a negative return - and for me it is not quite clear if the whole Euro - or even EU project will not unravel at some point to some degree.

My fiancee owns two appartements in her home city and I am paying a mortage for a house in my home country - so am not having all my eggs in one basket.

Merowig

Merowig wrote: »

Chances are that at some point we will see again a larger crash of the stock markets - .........

Quite likely.

Having some of your fund on deposit or in bonds makes it available to buy at the crash price in the future.

billyhead

Sorry for going a little of topic OP but at 30 years of age how much would be an ideal amount to pay into a private pension such as an AVC per month or year

billyhead

billyhead wrote: »

Sorry for going a little of topic OP but at 30 years of age how much would be an ideal amount to pay into a private pension such as an AVC per month or year

Hard question to answer, sane financial advisor will ask you what pension size do you want, % of retirement income etc etc etc.

They'll than baffle you with figures and projections that include inflation measures etc etc, awful stuff.

I'll say the following at the risk of being taken apart, ballpark figures ignoring inflation and speaking in todays figures (inflation takes care of itself as your pension contrib should increase with your wages imo)

State pension is circa €11k/annum. If you are 30 now and plan to retire at 68 you'll need to amass about €600k of a pension fund to end up grossing €30k/annum when you retire including the state pension.

So......... we'll be conservative ish and use a 5% per annum growth (after fees and with zero contribution fees).........

€500/month for your 30s (20%)
€625/month for your 40s on to 68 (25%)


that's based on a €30k/annum salary.

When it comes to it I doubt too many will/can throw over 25% of their income into pension in their 50 and 60s so I've just used 25% from 40 on.

That's a horrendously crude attempt at answering a very open question

billyhead

Augeo wrote: »

Hard question to answer, sane financial advisor will ask you what pension size do you want, % of retirement income etc etc etc.

They'll than baffle you with figures and projections that include inflation measures etc etc, awful stuff.

I'll say the following at the risk of being taken apart, ballpark figures ignoring inflation and speaking in todays figures (inflation takes care of itself as your pension contrib should increase with your wages imo)

State pension is circa €11k/annum. If you are 30 now and plan to retire at 68 you'll need to amass about €600k of a pension fund to end up grossing €30k/annum when you retire including the state pension.

So......... we'll be conservative ish and use a 5% per annum growth (after fees and with zero contribution fees).........

€500/month for your 30s (20%)
€625/month for your 40s on to 68 (25%)


that's based on a €30k/annum salary.

When it comes to it I doubt too many will/can throw over 25% of their income into pension in their 50 and 60s so I've just used 25% from 40 on.

That's a horrendously crude attempt at answering a very open question

Thanks for the insightful info. I started an AVC plan (I am a public sector employee) when I was 21 and put on average €140 a month into the plan since then. Based on your figures I should more then double this?

billyhead

billyhead wrote: »

Sorry for going a little of topic OP but at 30 years of age how much would be an ideal amount to pay into a private pension such as an AVC per month or year

billyhead wrote: »

Thanks for the insightful info. I started an AVC plan (I am a public sector employee) when I was 21 and put on average €140 a month into the plan since then. Based on your figures I should more then double this?

Quite likely not, my figures were for a 30 year old with no pension aside from what I proposed crudely

If you are putting €140/month into an AVC plan for the last 9 years you presumably have a public sector pension too

The stuff I typed mightn't be at all applicable to you.

Looking at the €140/month for the last 9 years, that's €15k at least of a fund (unless it was very very badly managed or eroded by high management fees).

From now to 38 years time assuming 5% growth per annum post expenses and no further contribution that cash alone should accumulate to a fund of €90k.

Continue the €140/month contribution and at the 5% growth etc post expenses/fees and that should end up as €270k. A €270k fund would get a 4% annuity so that's just shy of €11k/annum and you get the state pension too.

The past 9 year's contributions (at 5% growth etc) will end up as 33% of the total, the next 38 years €140/month will account for the other 66%.

Now why I can't say should you double the contribution is twofold
- I don't know what you want at retirement
- you presumably have a pension anyway that you are complementing with the €140/month AVC

The thing to be mindful of is that my 5% etc is only achievable is 50% of the AVC fund is invested in equity, if you selected the low risk option (which most of us do when we tick those boxes) you might well have the bulk of your funds is state guaranteed but very low growth options.

Merowig

Use that calculator
http://www.pensionsauthority.ie/en/Calculators/Pensions_Calculator/

If you can afford it try to increase it up to the maximum for the tax relief
http://www.pensionsauthority.ie/en/LifeCycle/Tax/Tax_relief_on_contributions/

billyhead

I will be getting a pension with the job. The AVC is with New Ireland Assurance and after a few months starting the job 13 years ago a rep sold me a pension plan and have been paying into it ever since.

billyhead

billyhead wrote: »

.......The AVC is with New Ireland Assurance.......

My pension from days gone by was with them, stopped paying into it in 2007, just transferred it out a few weeks ago.


My fund had grown by just under 25% in 8 years.

Merowig

I joined via my company a New Ireland PRSA in 2008 (they paid all the contributions) - contributions were just for a couple of months till my employer changed the pension provider. The fund more than doubled since then.

billyhead

Augeo wrote: »

My pension from days gone by was with them, stopped paying into it in 2007, just transferred it out a few weeks ago.


My fund had grown by just under 25% in 8 years.

Would that be seen as a good return in terms of a pension investment

billyhead

billyhead wrote: »

Would that be seen as a good return in terms of a pension investment

Not great imo but to be fair the 2007/2008 crash occurred after all contributions were made.

If I was impressed with them I'd leave the money there, which I haven't done

The thing with all those sort of arrangements is that it's very passive, they leave it as you wanted it via the ticky box questionnaire filled in upon set up, send out an annual update speel and that's that unless you poke and prod. Pensions games is a weird industry, people spending thousands/annum and getting very little advise/service in return.

RedXIV

Merowig wrote: »

Use that calculator
http://www.pensionsauthority.ie/en/Calculators/Pensions_Calculator/

If you can afford it try to increase it up to the maximum for the tax relief
http://www.pensionsauthority.ie/en/LifeCycle/Tax/Tax_relief_on_contributions/

One thing I don't really like about that calculator is that it assumes the state pension is not going to change and takes it into account for your figures.

I found this one which highlights just how your pension plan is affected by the current state pension:
http://www.mindthepensiongap.ie/

RedXIV

RedXIV wrote: »

One thing I don't really like about that calculator.........

Accepting the assumptions regarding growth etc most of those online calculators are very much worst case scenario territory as they are based on an annuity purchase upon retirement.

The annuity purchase is a huge pocket liner for providers, people would be better off in most cases going with other options

Merowig

RedXIV wrote: »

One thing I don't really like about that calculator is that it assumes the state pension is not going to change and takes it into account for your figures.

I found this one which highlights just how your pension plan is affected by the current state pension:
http://www.mindthepensiongap.ie/

Hard to make assumptions how the state pension changes. Every PRSA / Pension scheme has to send you once a year a projection what would you get in the future.


Seems most providers have their version of a calculator online as well e.g.:
http://www.zurichlife.ie/pensions/pension-contribution-and-investment-calculators/irish-pension-calculator/


I might transfer in the far future my PRSA and my company scheme to a pension scheme abroad should I find the annuities I could get here unattractive.

Bank of Ireland: Nicola

Hi robocode, Nicola here from the Bank of Ireland Talk to forum - just noticed your post.

The first thing to do, for anyone considering their pension, is to sit down and have a chat with a qualified pension adviser; they'll go through everything with you and discuss all the available options.

There are a number of factors that would need to be considered so a pension adviser can make sure any advice or recommendations they give you are tailored to your own individual needs, circumstances and retirement goals.

We’ve a handy retirement planning calculator here on our website that will give you a quick estimate.

If you need to get any more information or have any questions, feel free to drop by our Talk to forum.

Thanks
Nicola

newacc2015

Augeo wrote: »

The Zurich product is competitive cost wise, but it's not overly flexible. Also you are relying on

"Default Investment Strategy" that targets growth in the early years but changes to a lower risk portfolio as retirement approaches.
A more individualised profile can be designed through investing in a selection of the funds available (PDF - 93k). The funds are listed as 'Standard PRSA' (in blue)"

Like many funds they are taking the view that growth should be targetted in the early years so they'll invest the bulk in equities, see average returns or above average and than try to get out as retirement approaches.

So if you are 30 their plan is the wait until you are 50/55 to allocate funds to lower risk, great tactic if the market doesn't lose lots of value at any stage in the next 20 years.

Those LA broker folk are getting "Out of this 1% annual management charge LABrokers are paid a commission of 0.25% by Zurich." to manage a fairly crude strategy.

In the Zurich document https://www.zurichlife.ie/bgsi/servlet/DocArchServlet?docId=PN_PRSA_BR&docTag=&randint=H86F&docType=.pdf they've a case study of a 47 year old self employed dentist that they've set up with a PRSA, seems a strange strategy as he should be able to set up an Executive Pension Plan and get tax relief on PRSI and USC as well as the PAYE tax relief a PRSA offers.

Managed funds are a bit of joke. They never constantly beat the market. An S&P500 index will over 3 years will beat any financial advisor. With a managed fund,you are paying a fee to someone who cant actually beat the market year after year.

Warren Buffets wife is in her sixties and 90% of her pension is in stocks. He advises people to keep most of their pension if not all of it in shares. Bonds arent actually that safe when you look at them versus the S&P 500. Plus their return is pretty horrific. Where as the S&P 500 is heavily diversified and has little risk overall

The Financial crisis of 2008/2009 was a once in a lifetime event. I think was estimated to occur once in 83/88 years. It is highly unlikely it will occur in the next 50 years, as the financial industry is being heavily reformed.