AMRF

Hi

I have 63500€ in an AMRF which I had to open once I took my ARF in total inAug 2016 to pay off my mortgage as I was then unemployed with little possibility of getting another job as I just passed 60

I am now back working since Jan2017 so have a regular income.

Does it make any sense to add to my AMRF if allowed or to start a brand new prsa and put the maximum allowed into it which I think in my case would be 40% of gross income?

Also any way possible to access the AMRF to gift my son some money for a house deposit? Do you think the Gov will relax the rules around AMRF and allow people to access it at age 65 for example?

Patrick

Firstly, an AMRF is a post retirement product. So you cannot add to it.
Yes you could establish a new PRSA and contribute up to 40% of salary into such. Even better if your new employer would contribute something (up to overall limit of 40%).
At present you cannot access the AMRF, but:
- when you get the State Pension ( assuming full State Pension) at age 67, the AMRF can possibly convert to an ARF (assuming your guaranteed pension income now exceeds €12,700 pa).
- there is a review under way st present around “pension rules” and changes are possible in the ARF/AMRF regime. But hard to predict what or when.

However even if you were able to access the AMRF funds, there would likely be a tax hit. So not such a good idea ( in my opinion) to give up your pension for a son’s deposit (unless of course you have very good pension provision).

Conan

Thanks for the feedback, very informative

Patrick

You cannot have more than €63,500 in an AMRF. Any surplus goes into an ARF which can be freely accessed.

You can start a new pension plan yourself now if you wish and get the same benefits as you previously got. Even as a tax saving exercise, you can contribute 40% of earnings to a pension, get 40% tax relief, draw down 25% tax free and take the remainder as taxed cash.

The most that can be taken from an AMRF is 4% a year.

Those in receipt of the full State pension now satisfy the €12,700 guaranteed income requirement and don't have to pay into an AMRF. There are currently thousands of AMRF's being converted to ARFs.



Steven
http://www.bluewaterfp.ie (www.bluewaterfp.ie)


Edit: thought I posted this earlier

A query on this, when one has an AMRF, this will hopefully grow,so does this mean any growth is transferred into an ARF, and is this done annually ?

No. Any growth stays in the AMRF, but you can draw down a max of 4% of the fund value each year (potentially taxable as income).

Hi,

Does anyone know if you take retirement benefits at age 50, i.e. tax free cash, and then set up an ARF/AMRF, can you still join and contribute to a new employer DC scheme, as a seperate matter? Thanks

If you “retire” from Employer 1 and draw pension benefits, there is nothing stopping you taking up a new employment with Employer2 and starting to contribute to a new occupational pension plan.