No pension, 43 on 50K, where to start

Im 43, on 50K, wife, kids reasonable mortgage, no loans. The AIB are hounding me to start a PRSA(not keen on them!). Where should I start and how much should I put in to it? Is it too late?

First things first - don't let anybody hound you into taking out a pension and don't expect independent, professional, objective advice from a tied agent such as your bank. Decide on what you need and then shop around for the best deal. Do you have any pension cover at all at the moment? Do you have any other significant investments/savings? When would you ideally like to retire? What would be your target retirement income/lump sum in order to maintain the lifestyle to which you are accustomed? These questions and more should help you determine what is a suitable plan for your needs. Then you can start shopping around for a product/deal that matches your requirements. Apologies if this all sounds a bit vague/high level but it's essential to do some preparation on these matters rather than simply plunging in and buying the first product offered to you.

It's not too late to start.From age 40 to 50 you can put up to 25% or your NET Relevant Earnings into your pension.Please double check these figures.

Go to one of these.Then see if the bank are giving you a good deal.

Authorised Advisors (must give “best advice”) or Multi Agency Intermediaries (restricted to giving advice on the appointments they hold)

For more on independent advice see .

Thanks clubman,
No pension, no signif investments, SSIA (disaster fund). Retire at 65, would be OK on about 25K (?) with no mortgage, kids moved on. We have a site attached to present house should be wish to downsize. House is worth 300K at the moment - rural, 15 yrs on mortgage. I used the pension calculator on PBoard site. for 24K (including state pension), 550 pm now rising to 1315pm (net) at 53 sounds like a lot. It seems really expensive as we have left it so late. Wife is going back to work part-time and could contrib about 400 gross to avail of 42%. Should we both set up a pension, or use her cash for something else. We are laid back folks, not materialistic but don't like to rough it. Advice please..