Marital status: married
Age: 40
Joint gross salary: €140,000 p.a. (both full-time privately employed)
Investment portfolio: €185,000 (approx current value post any capital gains tax, shares are reasonably steady +/- 3%)
Cash savings: €65,000
Pension: €129,912 lump sum, €17,000 p.a. on retirement.
Pension (spouse): no current pension
No other savings or investments
Current mortgage lender: KBC
Outstanding mortgage balance (how much you still owe): €247,000
Years left on mortgage: 23 years
Approximate value of your property: €590,000
The date you started your fixed-rate mortgage (month and year): October 2018
How many years you fixed for: 5 years
Your current mortgage interest rate: 2.6%
Your current monthly repayment (excluding any overpayments): €1,190
Remaining term left on mortgage: 23 years
No other property other than our current house
We are one of one of the many customers with a KBC fixed-rate mortgage. We are also in the process of planning for a house extension (currently aim to commence building in Feb 2023). Originally, we were debating whether to get a top-up mortgage to cover some of the cost of the renovation, but the mortgage transfer is throwing some doubt on the best way to proceed as getting a top-up from KBC is not possible and we would have to negotiated with Bank of Ireland post-transfer.
After many years of savings collectively we have about €250,000 in total assets (split between shares - approx. €185,000 post capital gains tax when we sell, and cash savings of €65k). The estimated cost of the extension and full renovations to the property (incl fit out) is €210,000.
I've a couple of questions that I'm hoping you may have opinions on:
As a separate point, should my wife even consider starting a pension this late (at 40)?
Thanks!
Age: 40
Joint gross salary: €140,000 p.a. (both full-time privately employed)
Investment portfolio: €185,000 (approx current value post any capital gains tax, shares are reasonably steady +/- 3%)
Cash savings: €65,000
Pension: €129,912 lump sum, €17,000 p.a. on retirement.
Pension (spouse): no current pension
No other savings or investments
Current mortgage lender: KBC
Outstanding mortgage balance (how much you still owe): €247,000
Years left on mortgage: 23 years
Approximate value of your property: €590,000
The date you started your fixed-rate mortgage (month and year): October 2018
How many years you fixed for: 5 years
Your current mortgage interest rate: 2.6%
Your current monthly repayment (excluding any overpayments): €1,190
Remaining term left on mortgage: 23 years
No other property other than our current house
We are one of one of the many customers with a KBC fixed-rate mortgage. We are also in the process of planning for a house extension (currently aim to commence building in Feb 2023). Originally, we were debating whether to get a top-up mortgage to cover some of the cost of the renovation, but the mortgage transfer is throwing some doubt on the best way to proceed as getting a top-up from KBC is not possible and we would have to negotiated with Bank of Ireland post-transfer.
After many years of savings collectively we have about €250,000 in total assets (split between shares - approx. €185,000 post capital gains tax when we sell, and cash savings of €65k). The estimated cost of the extension and full renovations to the property (incl fit out) is €210,000.
I've a couple of questions that I'm hoping you may have opinions on:
- As a saver, I'm nervous about using the majority of our savings to pay for the renovation and wonder whether we would be better paying for a portion of it via savings (holding back some shares and a small amount of cash) and subsidising it via a mortgage top-up via BOI. I've no idea how feasible this would be, however. We think we can still very comfortably afford to increase our mortgage repayments to 1,300 per month.
- Should we look to re-fix with KBC? If so, for how long? We've been guaranteed no breaking fee, so we could potentially refix for 3 years at 2.25%, 5 years at 2.40% or 10 years at 2.85%
- My wife is also looking to at last start a PRSA pension paying €200 per month (approx. 170 post-tax). Better late than never, or at this stage is it a bad idea?
As a separate point, should my wife even consider starting a pension this late (at 40)?
Thanks!