- Will the ARF gain in value in the same way as the pension was or is it an inferior product in any way?
Yes - you have pretty much the same choice of funds on an ARF as with a pre-retirement pension fund. You don't have to take the ARF with the same provider that currently holds the pension fund unless you want to. And ARF charges are different depending on what sales channel you go to, so shop around for the ARF.
- If I take, say 15% of my pension in cash, does this impact the amount of cash I can take out of my other pensions when I actually retire?
If you can take 25% tax-free now, I'd be inclined to take it. You only get one chance to take tax-free cash out of the fund, so if you pass up the chance to take the full 25% and take 15% instead, the balance goes into your ARF and when you eventually withdraw from the ARF, it's taxable. So take the full 25% now, use the 15% for what you need and recycle the other 10% into a pension fund relating to your current employment, getting tax relief on it.
Maximum you can take out as pension tax-free lump sums in your lifetimes is €200,000. So if you take, for example, €100,000 now as a tax-free lump sum, that eats into your lifetime €200,000 allowance. Let's say you have an entitlement to a €150,000 lump sum from your other pension plans when you retire in the future, the first €100,000 (in this example) will be tax-free. Anything from €200,000 to €500,000 is taxed at 20%.
- Anything else I'm not thinking of?
If you have an ARF then from the tax year you turn 61, you must start drawing an income of at least 4% per year from it, which is taxable (or else face the prospect of being taxed on a notional 4% annual withdrawal).
If you're still working at that time the additional income from the ARF might be taxed at the high rate along with your salary, so you'd lose a chunk of the withdrawals to tax at a time when you might not need to be withdrawing from the ARF at all. This is why it can sometimes be advisable to leave taking your lump sum and setting up the ARF until you've actually retired and your income (and tax rate) has dropped. But if you need the lump sum now, that's also a consideration. Each example needs to be evaluated on its own merits.