Possibility of increasing your pension pot to buy an Annuity

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VInterested

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Looking at Annuity calculators to compare current rates, I have noticed that one of the tools I have found for Standard Life allows you to do 2 calculations, one based on your pension pot, the other one based on the pension you want to get from the annuity (which then calculates the pension pot required).

That made me think of the next question: Does any one know if you can add any of your cash/savings to a pension pot at retirement time in order to buy an annuity?

For illustration purposes lets say you have 275K in your pension pot and you want to round it up to 300K to buy an annuity, can you add the 25K from your own savings?
 
LDFerguson said:
As @GSheehy has said, no. But there's usually scope to make a last-minute contribution to your pension scheme, shortly before or even the day you retire.
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thanks. What is the max you can contribute (apart from the 40% for over 60 years old to get the tax reduction) and uding AVCs for an employee? Is it up to 115000 p.a.? Not sure about this. Does this depend on a % of your salary?
 
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Why can't you buy an annuity with non pension money? Surely all cash spends the same and if an insurance company builds in a margin on their model its a winning bet for them?
 
Larder13 said:
Why can't you buy an annuity with non pension money? Surely all cash spends the same and if an insurance company builds in a margin on their model its a winning bet for them?
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Different tax rules apply to annuities not purchased by pensions funds, so it's a separate product.

Not sure why purchased life annuities aren't offered any more. Could be lack of customer demand, or a difficulty making a profit.
 
Dr Strangelove said:
Does it exist outside Ireland denominated in €?

Is there anything to stop an Irish resident purchasing one?
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There may be one in the UK, I don't know.

There are all sorts of rules about selling products to non residents as well as anti money laundering regulations.


You can always put the money into an investment account and take a regular income from it.
 
Steven Barrett said:
There may be one in the UK, I don't know.
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Brexit was half a decade ago and the EU single market is around for decades now. It’s odd that you would think UK first.

Steven Barrett said:
There are all sorts of rules about selling products to non residents
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Like what?

Steven Barrett said:
as well as anti money laundering regulations.
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For sure these exist but the provider is obliged to look at the AML risk as a whole. If you can provide proof that source of funds is legitimate it shouldn’t matter where you are in the EU.
 
Dr Strangelove said:
Brexit was half a decade ago and the EU single market is around for decades now. It’s odd that you would think UK first.
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No it's not. The UK also speak English and there has been a lot of transfer of pensions between the UK and Ireland over the years. The EU single market has not expanded to financial services. You cannot buy car insurance or a pension in Germany for instance.

Dr Strangelove said:
Like what?
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Not being authorised to sell products outside of Ireland

Dr Strangelove said:
For sure these exist but the provider is obliged to look at the AML risk as a whole. If you can provide proof that source of funds is legitimate it shouldn’t matter where you are in the EU.
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See the first part of my answer. Try buy a financial product from a country outside Ireland. AML is just one of the reasons. Going back to the UK as an example, UK pension providers won't offer pension freedom drawdowns to non residents, just the annuity option. They will require address verification.

The single market does not exist when it comes to financial products, it is still very restricted.
 
Even with some sort of agreement in EU it's difficult. The Pan-European Pension Product (PEPP) idea date back to 2013 and they're still faffing around with it.
 
Steven Barrett said:
The EU single market has not expanded to financial services. You cannot buy car insurance or a pension in Germany for instance.
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The question is about an annuity and you’re talking about car insurance which is a totally different product!

My question is as follows: can an Irish resident call up a German provider and purchase an annuity?

I don’t know of any regulatory obstacle. Perhaps a German provider may have business or risk reasons not to offer the product.
 
If you can't spot what an example is then I don't know. I also mentioned a pension in my example, which you didn't mention. Both are examples of financial products.

You have to be regulated in the jurisdiction you are selling the products in. There are usually restrictions on selling to people outside jurisdictions that you are regulated in too.
 
Steven Barrett said:
You have to be regulated in the jurisdiction you are selling the products in.
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You have to be regulated in one EU jurisdiction and you can sell financial products in the others on a freedom of service basis. There are millions of Irish adults on a daily basis use neo bankswhich are regulated in another EU jurisdiction.
Steven Barrett said:
There are usually restrictions on selling to people outside jurisdictions that you are regulated in too.
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I have asked for an example of such a restriction and you haven’t given me one.

FWIW I have a need for a slightly unusual pension product (not an annuity) that no Irish provider can fulfill. I’ve spoken to advisers and providers in four EU member states so far. All are perfectly happy to deal with an Irish resident and provide contracts in English.
 

Do tell.

Some links would be great. We could ask the regulated product providers (& Central Bank) in the Irish market what all the fuss is about on this Island and see if everyone is om the same page.
 
GSheehy said:
Do tell.
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I’m a pseudonym. You can take what I say at face value as you please.

I spoke with several MiFID-authorised advisers in other EU member states who had products they could recommend. They had no issue with my Irish residence. They would have run a mile if, for example, I had been a US resident or citizen.
 
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