When you are young, financial commitments such as buying a property can take priority - retirement seems too far away to worry about! However, this is exactly the time when you should be putting plans in place for a secure future in retirement.

If that's the only income you have when you retire, it could certainly mean a big fall in your standard of living. Furthermore, people are living longer and healthier lives so your retirement could last for up to 30 years. Did you know that the cost to achieve the fund you will need for a comfortable retirement doubles on average every eight years? So it pays to start early.

And the good news is that the Government offer attractive tax relief on any contributions you make to a pension plan - so it's also a great way to save for your future.

As a company director or company owner, you probably view your share in the business as your pension when you retire.

While this is one way of providing a source of income when you retire, there is no guarantee that it will provide you with the standard of living you are currently accustomed to throughout your retirement years.

A Retirement Plan allows you to provide for your pension fund independently of the company assets and its future profitability. And it is designed specifically to take full advantage of the generous tax relief that is granted to Company pension arrangements.

A PRSA (Personal Retirement Savings Account) provides everyone with the opportunity to plan wisely for their retirement and it is designed to suit all types of people - those who do not have access to a pension scheme through work, those who work in the home, those who work part time and those who are unemployed.

A PRSA is a simple and cost-effective way to plan for your retirement. Basically, it is pensions made easy! So don't put it to the back of your mind, take this opportunity to be in control of your future and start a PRSA today

When you retire, a whole new chapter in your life begins. However, you have one important financial decision to make before you can start spending that retirement fund you have been building for the last number of years. That is, how to use your retirement fund in order to provide yourself and your spouse/dependants with an income throughout your retirement years.

As a result of the 1999 & 2000 Finance Acts, as well as the traditional option of purchasing a Pension, you may also have the new option of investing your fund in an Approved Retirement Fund (ARF). Provided you have a guaranteed income if €12,700 per year for the rest of your life, you can choose to invest in an ARF. This allows you to invest your retirement fund in a range of investments managed by approved providers. These investments can grow tax-free until they are withdrawn. Also, you retain ownership of your retirement fund with an ARF, so you can make withdrawals from it when you need to, use it to buy a pension at any time, or keep it fully invested to use it as a very tax efficient way to pass a lump sum on to your dependents in the event of your death.

If you're self-employed, or if you are an employee but not a member of your employer's pension facility, then it's up to you to plan for your own retirement.

So if you want to be able to enjoy a comfortable retirement, the onus is clearly on you to put money aside during your working years. And, the sooner you do so, the better chance you have of meeting your goal. Not only that, but the generous tax advantages that a pension plan offers, makes it a really cost efficient way to save.

Why start a Personal Retirement plan? Because at all stages of your plan, from when you start saving until the point you retire and beyond, Redmond Mortgages & Pensions will help you to choose the options that best suit you. Having these options will help ensure that you get from where you are today to where you want to be in the future with the comfort and freedom that you'd expect.

Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC)

Boosting Your Retirement Fund

When you retire, you'll want to ensure that you can continue to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. As most of us can now expect to live for at least another 20 years after retirement, now might be a good time to think about saving more of your income for later in life.

At retirement you may qualify for a State Pension (Contributory) through your PRSI contributions, and you may also benefit from the proceeds of a company pension plan.

However, will relying on the State Pension and being a member of your employer's pension scheme be enough to enable you to fulfill your retirement dreams? Depending on your circumstances, it may be necessary for you to make Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVC's) to your pension plan, in order to provide yourself with a supplemental retirement fund for a brighter future in retirement. And with the attractive tax relief offered by the Government, retirement savings can offer an even better deal than the SSIA, giving you the opportunity to potentially double your savings.