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Investment provider excellence award1

Pension provider excellence award1

Fund management company of the year2

Pensions and Life Assurance Company of the Year3

 
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3 things to consider before retirement

There are lots of factors to consider, big and small, before you choose what to do with your retirement fund. It’s a very special time and the decisions you make now, can make all the difference to the lifestyle you want when you retire.


Know your options

At retirement you can usually take some of your pension as a tax-free lump sum, investing the rest in an Approved Retirement Fund (ARF) or taking an income for life (Annuity). It’s important to understand the approach that works best for you.


Maximise tax relief

Your pension is a great way to reduce your tax liability and boost retirement income. Did you know that if you're aged between 55-59, you can pay up to 35% of your salary tax free into your pension? That increases to 40% for those over 60.


Investing with Zurich

Zurich has been operating in the pension industry in Ireland for over 40 years. The Investment and Pension Provider Excellence Awards from Brokers Ireland, 2024 are just some of the many industry awards we have won during this period 1 .

Why Zurich?

We offer in-retirement investment strategies which can be customised to you. There are a range of options depending on your situation. Your financial advisor can help work through these options so you can maximise your retirement funds with Zurich.

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Track record
 Over the past 10 years, our popular Prisma 3, 4 and 5 Funds have outperformed the market average and delivered positive returns*.

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Investment expertise
Our investment team, based in Blackrock, Co. Dublin, has been managing our customers’ investments for over 40 years.

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Award-winning
 The Investment Provider and Pension Provider Excellence Awards from Brokers Ireland, 2024 are just some of the recent awards we have won 1 .

Retirement planning articles

Get in touch

Zurich is committed to doing the best we can for our customers. That’s why people choose us for their retirement savings. So if you’d like to take the next step, get in touch today.

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Retirement Terms Glossary

Additional Voluntary Contributions

Additional contributions which can be made to a company pension scheme to increase potential benefits.

Annuitant

An individual who is in receipt of an annuity

Annuity
Income for Life (Annuity). This is a very popular retirement choice in that it offers you complete peace of mind. An Annuity guarantees to pay you a secure income for the rest of your life, no matter how long you live. This is a very attractive option but you cannot pass any remaining fund on to your family when you die.
ARF
Approved Retirement Fund (ARF). An ARF gives you more control over how your retirement fund is managed. It is an investment plan with the intention of growing your fund during your retirement years based on your own investment strategy.
Default Investment Strategy
An automatic mechanism that gradually transforms an individual's pension fund from a higher-risk portfolio to a lower-risk portfolio as they approach retirement.
Early Retirement
The commencement of retirement benefits prior to the normal selected retirement age.
Final Pensionable Earnings
The earnings upon which an individual's benefits from a company sponsored pension arrangement will be calculated. This will either be pensionable earnings at a particular date or averaged over a number of years.
Final Remumeration
The earnings that the Revenue will use for calculating the maximum benefits that can be received by an individual at retirement from a company sponsored pension arrangement.
Investment Fund
The earnings that the Revenue will use for calculating the maximum benefits that can be received by an individual at retirement from a company sponsored pension arrangement.
NRA

Normal retirement age

NRD

Normal retirement date

Open Market Option
The right to transfer benefits at retirement from a pension policy to an insurance company of the individual's choice to provide an annuity or other relevant retirement benefits approved under relevant legislation.
Pension Policy
A policy established for the purposes of saving money to be used to fund for retirement. These policies are governed under specific parts of legislation.
Pensionable Earnings
The earnings which are used for calculating contributions to a company pension scheme.
Surrender Value
The cash value of the policy at any time before death, maturity or Normal Retirement Age. It will be calculated on a basis stipulated in the policy document.
Tax Free Lump Sum
The amount of tax-free cash that an individual is entitled to take from the proceeds of a pension policy calculated in accordance with Revenue limits.

*Source: Zurich and Moneymate, April 2025. The constituents of the Prisma comparison averages are multi-asset funds available from Life Company peers in the Irish Market (ILAC, SLAC, New Ireland, Aviva), which target a similar level of volatility to the respective Prisma Fund. Where a provider has multiple fund ranges, we use the most prominent, and where risk targeting methodologies differ, we seek to use the most comparable fund. All unit price information is sourced from Fund Focus (Moneymate). Performance figures are provided gross of annual management charges (AMC) by Moneymate. Performance figures for all fund managers are based on close of markets prices 31/03/2025, based on best available information. Annual management fees apply. Returns are based on offer performance and do not represent the return achieved by individual policies linked to the fund.

1 Investment Provider Excellence Award, Brokers Ireland 2024; Pension Provider Excellence Award, Brokers Ireland, 2024

2 Fund Management Company of the Year 2024 Award, Business and Finance Financial Services Awards 2024

3 Pensions and Life Assurance Company of the Year, InBUSINESS Recognition Awards, 2025.

 

The information contained herein is based on Zurich's understanding of current Revenue practice as at 1st May 2025 and may change in the future. 

Warning: Past performance is not a reliable guide to future performance.
Warning: This product may be affected by changes in currency exchange rates.
Warning: The value of your investment may go down as well as up.
Warning: If you invest in these products you may lose some or all of the money you invest.
Warning: The income you get from this investment may go down as well as up.
Warning: These figures are estimates only. They are not a reliable guide to the future performance of your investment.