Pensioneer Trustee Services

Pensions are investment vehicles that are often set up through an insurance company in the workplace as individuals set out on their financial journey. As life demands, commitments and financial goals change as do financial expectations for the future. We believe your pension should also change to suit your changing financial circumstances allowing you choice, flexibility, cost effectiveness and transparency as you build your personal wealth. As we get older in age, the performance, cost and flexibility of our pension investments become more urgent however there may be regret for not having acted sooner to effect change.

Self-administered pension arrangements are particularly attractive to business owners or senior employees who prefer a more hands-on approach to their finances using tax efficient investment structures.

Grant Thornton Pensioneer Trustees Limited can assist you in the setup and management of self-administered pensions, structure investments correctly and facilitate funding where appropriate.

What if you:

• had the freedom to plan for your future with control over where your pension assets are invested;
• received an annual account of your pension portfolio that was easy to understand;
• could easily move your pension between employments;
• could easily move existing pension assets;
• had no Benefit In Kind (BIK) on pension contributions;
• had pension investments that grow free of Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax;
• wished to borrow in your pension for property investment;
• did not have to liquidate all your pension assets on retirement;
• could reduce the cost of your pension and retire from age 50; and
• had a broad choice of pension investment options including:
• residential and commercial property;
• exchange traded funds;
• direct ownership of stocks and shares;
• cash deposits;
• bonds.

A self-administered pension structure may be the structure that you need to grow your wealth.

Why Grant Thornton

Grant Thornton Pensioneer Trustees Limited can offer business owners, company directors and senior employees the opportunity to manage their own retirement choices without the investment restrictions, high charges and lack of transparency many pension providers apply to their pension policies.

As a pensioneer trustee we will assist you with the legal and technical aspects of your pension structure, the level of funding possible and any significant legislative changes affecting your pension.

If you are interested in investing in property or alternative asset classes with your pension fund please speak to your financial advisor and we will work in tandem with them to provide you with the most suitable solution for your circumstances.

Tax advantages of a pension structure

• full tax relief available on monies invested in your pension;
• all income and gains within pension schemes are exempt from income tax;
• on retirement you can take 25% of the value of the pension fund or a maximum of €500,000 as a lump sum of which €200,000 is tax free with the remaining €300,000 taxed at 20%;
• your pension assets can continue to grow tax free post retirement in an Approved Retirement Fund (ARF) or a Vested PRSA and only taxed at your marginal rate on pension drawdown; and
• your pension is designed to be tax effective in passing wealth to the next generation.