Pension from previous employement

J

JacobF

Registered User
Messages
8
Looking for advice...

I have a pension with Irish Life from a previous employment under their "Irish Life Empower Master Trust"
It is invested in their "EMPOWER High Growth Fund" with a risk rating of 5. It's current value is ~€150k and it has gone up and down over last few years (in 5 years it has grown from approx €88k to what it is today). Projection for when I am 50 years old is €185,883.

I am unsure if I am making the most of what I have - should I move the funds (all or partial) to a a different fund like Indexed World Equity Fund (Risk Rating 6) so to increase my odds of having a larger sum by the time I hit my 50s?

I know no one has a crystal ball so my question is - if you had €150k in the above pension arrangement, how would you go about growing that as much as you can in the next 10 years? I am hoping to take 20% out in my 50s to help with education costs.

Cheers!
 
I know nothing about the fund you are in, and about as much about the alternatives Irish Life might offer. I can say that you should check the annual management charge you have with it, and any alternative funds.
 
FWIW I have a buy out bond with Irish Life from a previous employment as well. I have it invested 100% in the World Equity Fund. I am late 40s and wouldn't be touching it till at least 62.

Agree with above poster to check charges and make sure they are competitive.
 
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Sorry folks I should have come back sooner!

AMC is 0.28% which is competitive and I won't secure that level if I move it to a bond I assume. My plan is to try maximise within Irish Life so wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to get the fund to grow as well as possible. Should I:
- Leave full fund on existing fund at risk 5?
- Put a portion or all of fund into a risk level 6 fund?

I'm 42 years old and thinking it would be good to access in 10 years for kids education costs etc

thanks !
 
Yeah the rates are good so I am reluctant to move it unless some other company / fund may be a better fund to invest in.

Haven't really got much of clue on what to do hence asking here... thinking just leave as is or maybe up the investment risk to 6 - any advice?

cheers!
 
I have a pension with Irish Life from a previous employment under their "Irish Life Empower Master Trust" also. I was employed in the charity sector at the time. I was on a low part time income, so when I retire in a little under 3 years the projected value of the fund is only 131k. I thought to transfer it to my present Zurich fund, but my present employer's pension advisor recommended I leave it where it is, simply because the management charges are so competitive. I just had a look and the investment risk on one of my funds is a 6 so I'll have to reduce that to a 4 I think. What I saw when I logged in today, was that a risk of 6 is only suitable for those who have a retirement date of more than 13 years from now.
 
Evie1962 said:
What I saw when I logged in today, was that a risk of 6 is only suitable for those who have a retirement date of more than 13 years from now.
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That's debatable and seems like a subjective and sweeping statement. Who said that?
 
That’s what I saw on the Irish Life website when I checked where my funds were lodged and the risk attached to same.
 
Evie1962 said:
That’s what I saw on the Irish Life website when I checked where my funds were lodged and the risk attached to same.
Click to expand...
If you want feedback on your specific circumstances then maybe consider doing a Money Makeover post.

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Your old employer is meeting some of the costs, so you are getting it very cheap. If you put it somewhere in your own name, you meet all the costs, so it will be much higher to you.

An global stock index fund is fine, giving you access to some of the best companies in the world. As long as you are comfortable with the volatility that goes with the stock market, then go for it. When there is a crash, don't panic, it is a part of investing.
 
You can pick your investment approach on their website. Mine is "Be my Guide" which is meant to do the below. Might be useful if you are 3 years out from retirement ???

"Irish Life Corporate Business offers an innovative investment strategy for company pension scheme members. This is called The Personal Lifestyle Strategy (PLS) which provides a tailored pension investment solution for each individual that uses it.
PLS is designed to meet two very important needs for pension scheme members:
  • It helps protect their pension fund value against market fluctuations as they get closer to their retirement date and
  • It directs their pension fund value into appropriate funds that best match the benefits that a member is likely to take on retirement."
 
Cheers Steven that's interesting about old employer covering some of the costs - I had no idea but that's good to hear! I did a free financial review with a well known organisation and they suggested I could make a much better return with a different fund with AVIVA and that the return would be regardless of a higher AMC (I think I was quoted 1% on a Bond). I think I will leave it where it is for now.
 
Of course they did!!

If I invest in a Global Index with Irish Life and a global index with Aviva, the returns should be the same (there will be a tracking error). The difference is the charges, which come from your fund.

Or are they going to recommend a riskier fund to get these greater returns? You always have to assess whether you are taking good risk or bad risk. An Irish equity fund could shoot the lights out but there's a very realistic chance that it will collapse and not recover for years. That is risk I don't want to take with my money.
 
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