€500,000 - Enough to retire on?

[mtk]

With respect, that's not the case.

In the simplest terms, 7% a year doubles your money after 10 years.

Maxing out one's AVCs for (say) 30 years should create some extraordinary numbers. Compounding is one of the cornerstones of wealth creation.

yep and for a real example i had 150k in june 2009 in an old DC scheme I had left....now its at @320k

 

[fistophobia]

I accept that compounding and gross roll-up work in a pension wrap.
However, try accessing the money early - you cant.
I watched a parent retire at 65 with great plans for future leisure activities, only to be dead 2 years later.

 

[Gordon Gekko]

I accept that compounding and gross roll-up work in a pension wrap.
However, try accessing the money early - you cant.
I watched a parent retire at 65 with great plans for future leisure activities, only to be dead 2 years later.

Which was sad, but it's not a reason to ignore pension funding. And with the ARF option, one's spouse "keeps the pension".

There will always be push back when it comes to pensions. But the structure can't do everything; the relative lack of early accessibility is the price to be paid for the extraordinary tax break.