Protect your pension in sickness and in health

The forecasted rise in life expectancy means you may enjoy your retirement for many years to come. A well-funded pension pot can help you make the most of your retirement.

Additionally, from a financial planning perspective, a pension is a smart savings tool. Contributions qualify for tax relief at the higher rates (20% or 40%), and any investment growth is not subject to investment tax, allowing your savings to accumulate tax-free.

In short, your pension plays a crucial role in your long-term financial security. That’s why it’s essential to keep making regular contributions, so you can look forward to a secure future.

Tomorrow’s pension is funded by today’s income

A well-funded pension relies on two key elements: choosing the right pension plan and your ability to make sufficient contributions. If you are not able to contribute enough throughout your career, your pension won’t have the opportunity to grow.

In most cases, our income is our main source of these contributions And it is today's income that lays the foundation for tomorrow’s pension. If you lose your ability to earn an income, your future pension could be impacted.

A fictional example shows just how easily this can happen:

Daragh (40) is a self-employed consultant with a monthly income of €5,000 before taxes. He wishes to retire at 65 and transfers €500 (10% of his monthly income before taxes) into his Personal Retirement Savings Account.

When Daragh is 45, he becomes ill and is unable to work for five years. Without sufficient Income Protection in place, Daragh has to live on a much smaller budget and stops his pension contributions. Over the course of five years, he will have missed €30,000 in pension contributions.

If you also consider the tax-free investment growth these contributions could have generated, the missed opportunity becomes even greater. Assuming a fictional average annual return of 6% with an annual management cost of 1% on these contributions until Daragh’s 65th birthday, these missed contributions could have built a pension pot of €70,124.

Protecting pensions in sickness and in health with income protection

A stress-free retirement is something many of us look forward to, and proactive planning provides peace of mind. That’s why it’s important to protect your income—because it covers your current needs and forms the foundation of your future pension.

The reality is that events like a car accident or cancer can affect anyone, regardless of age or gender. If circumstances prevent you from working for an extended period, your ability to earn and save for retirement may be impacted. Just as it’s never too early to start planning for retirement, it’s equally important to protect yourself against a potential loss of income—so you can continue building your pension with confidence.

For example, for a couple both aged 40, there is a 60.8%¹ chance that at least one will be unable to work for four weeks or more before reaching the standard retirement age of 66. There is also a 24.9% chance that one or both will be diagnosed with a serious illness or pass away during this time¹.

Ensuring your financial wellbeing in retirement means having both a solid pension plan and the ongoing contributions to fund it. By protecting your ability to make those contributions, you help secure your pension and provide lifelong financial wellbeing.

How much does income protection cost?

The premium you pay depends on various factors, such as your level of cover, your age, your smoking status, your health, and your occupation. If you want to learn more about the price of Income Protection, visit our  Income Protection Quote Calculator.

¹Zurich UK’s Risk Reality Calculator, 2025