How does a prsa pension work?
Contributions
You invest either regular contributions or one-off contributions, or both. Most people choose regular contributions because it is easier and smoothes out the cost. If you are an employee and are not in a pension plan at work, your employer could also contribute to your plan.
Tax relief
You may then be entitled to tax relief on your contributions. It would be nice if you could save unlimited amounts into your PRSA and get tax relief, but because the tax breaks are so good, the Government puts limits on them. You can pay as much as you like. However, you are not guaranteed income tax relief, but you will generally get tax relief on contributions up to a percentage of net relevant earnings. You can get more detail on the tax relief available in our PRSA brochure.
Growth
We then invest your contributions (less any contribution charge) in a fund where any growth achieved will not be taxed until you take your benefits.
Retirement Fund
Finally, you’ll hopefully have built up a big enough fund for your retirement. Normally, you can take your benefits between the ages of 60 and 75, but there are certain exceptions. At that stage, you’ll have a number of choices in terms of what you want to do with that fund. Go to our retirement options page for more information.
