Income is steady at the moment and will be for the foreseeable future. It wasn’t always the case which is why we never invested in a pension fund.
That is understandable but should not direct your financial plans now.
You should absolutely prioritise your pension ahead of paying off your mortgage.
You can contribute 30% of your income and your husband can contribute 35% of his income each year.
So you can put in €30k and he can put in about €20k - or €50k a year between you.
This will only cost you a net of €25k after tax relief.
I presume you can well afford it from your income of €150k.
So you don't need to sell any property to do so. You have about €740k in assets.
You don't seem terribly tied in to either property.
- One options is to sell the overseas property and our house in the next 3- 5 years and buy an apartment in Dublin. We would continue to work albeit 2/3 days a week.
If you like your current house, you don't need to sell it. Your principal private residence is a great investment. The "income" in terms of rent saved is tax-free. Any increase in value is exempt from Capital Gains Tax.
If you sell your overseas property, what will you do with the proceeds? You don't need the proceeds to stuff your pension. If your income drops in the coming years and you can't afford the (reduced) pension contribution, then you might consider doing that.
- Another option would be to sell the overseas property, buy an apartment in Dublin and rent out our main home to supplement our income and only sell if/when the need arises.
Just doesn't sound right. If you would prefer to live in an apartment than live in your current home, then do so by all means. But the hassle and tax consequences of renting out a house are just not worth it.
- Sell everything and move to somewhere cheaper outside Dublin (hubby's preference but not mine)
Again, you do not need to do that for financial reasons, but if you would prefer to live outside Dublin fine. I would say that you should probably hold onto your home for a couple of years to see how you settle in. Then the move is reversible.
- We know that many of you will say that our big mistake was in buying the property abroad and neglecting the pension. However, that’s in the past and we’re now trying to see a way forward and would appreciate any advice or any articles/posts that would benefit our reading on the matter.
It depends on how much you paid for the property and what use and return you have got out of it.