Pension & Investment Options for a 27 year old before travelling for a year

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FKC2024

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Age: 27, Single

Annual gross income: €44,000

Monthly Take Home Pay: €2,500

Type of employment: PAYE worker, private company

Expenditure pattern: Generally, a saver. Try to save about €400 a month, but finding it difficult renting & living in Dublin.

Home: NA. Rent is €800 per month

Pension Fund Value: ~€5,000. Contribute 10% of my wages per month, which is matched by my employer.

Company Shares: ~€1,000 on Trading212

Other Borrowings/Loans/Credit Card: None

Savings: €14,000 saved between my credit union account, AIB savings account & Revolut Flexible Cash Funds

Life Insurance: None

The main questions I have are surrounding my pension contributions & also investing options. I am planning to move to Australia at the end of the year and will be moving back home to save on rent beforehand.

Pension
  • I will not have two years of pensionable service completed in my current role before I move to Australia, will only have been in the role approx. 11 months at that stage. There is a clause in my contract that you need two years pensionable service to keep the company pension contributions.
  • Presumably there is no way to avoid losing the employer pension contribution, but is there anything I can do to keep my own contributions invested, which will be approx. €4,000 before I hand in my notice. I had started a pension in my first job years ago for a very short time, March through May 2021. These contributions have stayed invested in that fund. Is there any sense in transferring the value of this to my current pension? Would doing so bump me up to the 2 years of service
    Investing
  • I have enough saved at the moment to go travelling as I will be working whilst in Australia. I have inherited a small amount of cash in addition to my current savings, approx. €2,000 which I would like to invest before I go. This will be invested for at least 5 years. I don’t feel comfortable depositing the likes of this on the trading 212 platform, both in the sense that I don’t totally trust the platform nor understand the tax implications. For now, the amount I have invested in Trading212 is small enough that I fall below the threshold of paying tax on earnings as I understand it.
  • I am considering investing this 2k in the Zurich Prisma 4 fund. I know it’s more expensive than investing via the likes of Trading212, but I’m willing to pay that expense for the ease & peace of mind. Is there an alternative fund/provider that may be better suited or is this a good option? I’ve looked at their fees and each seem to be within the range that Eoin McGee has mentioned.
 
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Not sure about the pensions.

I would keep your savings in cash and easily available to you while you are on holidays. So that suggests a bank account rather than an investment product.

If you need access to the money in a savings product, you will need to get forms and sign them and return them. If your money is in Revolut or AIB, you can move them around online easily.

Brendan
 
Some unpopular (maybe bias) views:

1) Don't waste time investing 2k in a fund, save it. If its burning a hole in your pocket just do a one off AVC into your pension of the same value - and the tax saved will be more than the fund will grow. And there will be no temptation to touch (lose) it when market spooks you.

2) Consider the true cost of "a year out"

It shows a certain level of maturity to be looking for a website like this, and asking the smart questions you are asking. It surprises me when those profiles just "take a year out".

Taking a year out is a huge cost, often totally underestimated.

1) You appear to be in a good job, or at least with a good employer - your employer is matching your pension at 10% which is not common. If the company matches at that level I guess it is the type of company where your basic salary may also grow quickly if you invest the time?

2) You are going to lose around 4-5000 employer pension contributions by not doing your two years, then you will lose that growing over the next 35 years.

3) Cost of not investing in your career if you have opportunities in front of you and the alternative is min wage labour in Australia. Of course "living life" is important and peoples priorities are different, professionally I grinded in my twenties while my friends travelled the world on the beer. My mortgage is nearly paid off, they are only buying homes now. Their choice was not wrong, just different, yet their is a financial opportunity cost most don't even consider
 
I think for most people with a couple of years experience under their belt like the OP has, they can probably get hourly rate work in their field, which can be quite lucrative, not to mention the overseas experience that is helpful in working in one of the many multinationals in Ireland on return - you might even pick up work in a company that has a presence in Ireland which might be helpful too when you return in terms of contacts and experience in softwares etc. It is a world of difference to those heading out as new grads or as school leavers. I know plenty of folk who only benefited from their working abroad, instead of it stalling their careers. It is also a far more fun experience as a young person with limited responsibilities than trying to attempt something similar as an older adult.

OP gather all the paperwork around your prior pensions and how long the service is in them, as combining them can get you up to the 2 years.
 
presidenttttt said:
Some unpopular (maybe bias) views:

1) Don't waste time investing 2k in a fund, save it. If its burning a hole in your pocket just do a one off AVC into your pension of the same value - and the tax saved will be more than the fund will grow. And there will be no temptation to touch (lose) it when market spooks you.

2) Consider the true cost of "a year out"

It shows a certain level of maturity to be looking for a website like this, and asking the smart questions you are asking. It surprises me when those profiles just "take a year out".

Taking a year out is a huge cost, often totally underestimated.

1) You appear to be in a good job, or at least with a good employer - your employer is matching your pension at 10% which is not common. If the company matches at that level I guess it is the type of company where your basic salary may also grow quickly if you invest the time?

2) You are going to lose around 4-5000 employer pension contributions by not doing your two years, then you will lose that growing over the next 35 years.

3) Cost of not investing in your career if you have opportunities in front of you and the alternative is min wage labour in Australia. Of course "living life" is important and peoples priorities are different, professionally I grinded in my twenties while my friends travelled the world on the beer. My mortgage is nearly paid off, they are only buying homes now. Their choice was not wrong, just different, yet their is a financial opportunity cost most don't even consider
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Hi,

Thanks for your reply and I completely agree with what you're saying. It's something I've struggled with over the last couple of months

Ultimately though, I do think I would rather enjoy my life in my 20s, whilst I'm young, even if that does mean I will end up working a few more years later in life.
 
If you are forced to take back your pension contributions, you could open a PRSA and invest the funds into this.

If you get the funds returned and invested before 31 October you can gain tax relief on your contributions for 2023 and 2024.
 
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