Max pension contribution

[pauric]

I'm not clear from reading the revenue website regarding the max tax free pension contribution I can make?

Tax relief for pension contributions

This page outlines the tax relief for pension contributions

www.revenue.ie

I'm in 30-39 age group so the max I can contribute is 20%. My employer is currently contributing 5% and I'm contributing 15%, what I'm not 100% clear on though is does that 20% limit the sum of employer and the employee contribution?

So really the question is, can I increase mine from 15% to 20% while employer contributes 5% and still be under the tax free limit?

 

[michaelm]

So really the question is, can I increase mine from 15% to 20% while employer contributes 5% and still be under the tax free limit?

Yup. Employer contribution does not affect employee limits.

 

[newirishman]

It says in your linked article:

Employer PRSA contributions are:

• deemed for tax relief purposes to be made by the employee
• added to the employee's actual contributions to determine if the above limits are reached
• treated as a taxable employer benefit received by the employee.

you can contribute more of course but you won’t get tax relief above the thresholds of combined contributions.

 

[newirishman]

Yup. Employer contribution does not affect employee limits.

This is generally speaking incorrect.

 

[bitethebullet]

what I'm not 100% clear on though is does that 20% limit the sum of employer and the employee contribution?

So really the question is, can I increase mine from 15% to 20% while employer contributes 5% and still be under the tax free limit?

you can increase from 15 to 20.

 

[michaelm]

This is generally speaking incorrect.

Maybe so. Always open to correction. Is it not correct specifically for occupational pension schemes (which is what I assumed, perhaps lazily, was what the OP was referring to)?

 

[Conan]

The answer depends on what type of scheme you are contributing to. If it’s a conventional Occupational Pension, then the Employer contribution does not impact your allowable limits. However if you are contributing to a PRSA, then the allowable limit is inclusive of the Employer contribution.
So check what type of scheme you are contributing to.