After you have taken your retirement tax free lump sum you may be able to choose between an Annuity and an Approved Retirement Fund. We help you compare the features of an ARF and an Annuity, so you can choose which option may be more suitable for your retirement plan based on your own priorities.
What is an Annuity?
An Annuity is a contract with a life insurance company that will pay you a guaranteed, regular pension income for life in return for you paying a fixed sum of money to an insurance company from your retirement fund. The income that you receive will be subject to income tax and Universal Social Charge (USC). Read more in the 'Post Retirement Guide'.
What is an Approved Retirement Fund? (ARF)
An ARF is a personal retirement fund where you can keep your money invested after retirement. You can withdraw from it regularly to give yourself an income, which will be subject to income tax, PRSI (up to age 66) and USC. Any money left in the fund after your death can be left to your next of kin. There are certain restrictions to investing in an ARF. Read more in the 'Post Retirement Guide'.
There are different advantages to taking out an Annuity and/or an ARF. Our 'Post Retirement Guide' will help you understand the difference between these products.
What's right for you?
Rank the following statements in order of importance to you. Your answers will help guide you on whether an ARF or an Annuity might suit you best. This tool is for information purposes only. We recommend you talk with your financial advisor on whether an ARF or Annuity is most appropriate for you.
What to do:
- Below are six statements about how you may feel about your retirement. Simply put them in order of importance to you, with 1 = MOST important and 6 = LEAST important.
- You can swap and change the statements until you are happy. Then click on the 'My Results' button for your result.
Drag and drop the statements below to rank them in order of importance.