Probably the best (cheapest) PRSA in the world?

P

Poseidon

Registered User
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The launch of Royal London Ireland's new pension product in late November 2024 seems to have finally offered customers accessible, lost-cost PRSAs. Through an execution-only broker, it is relatively easy to access a passive fund AMC of 0.55% or significantly lower on larger transfers. Taking into account their "ValueShare" scheme of 0.13% in recent years, the AMC may be effectively reduced to 0.42% or significantly lower (0.32%) for larger transfers. Allocations are 100%, and now there's no necessity to move to an ARF in retirement anymore, ensuring many years of savings.

Free transfers from the major life companies take typically around two weeks, and Royal London's customer service seems excellent in comparison to some traditional providers. Passive funds are managed by BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, and Royal London itself is the UK's largest mutual insurance/pension provider.

Even though this has been mentioned in a thread already on AAM, I wonder why this game-changer has received so little attention, even on Askaboutmoney. Royal London also seems to offer very low-cost PRSA AVCs, PRB/Buy-Out-Bonds, and ARFs.
 
Nice looking website and good see a company making it easier to access information. It seems upfront about charges and fees. I was able to open the two fund sheets with the lowest AMC but not the higher ones. It asks for log in details and so may only be available to existing customers?

If it's a genuine attempt to be competitive hopefully it encourages other providers to compete by lowering their charges and costs.
 
I've mentioned this elsewhere, I recently went direct with Standard Life, their PRSA O product, on which they are offering a 0.5% rebate on the AMC if you hold >€100k. So I'm on a Vanguard indexed fund for 0.4% all in.

Obviously I'm comfortable enough to go in Direct, which may not be suitable for many people.

Good to see these kinds of products driving down costs.
 
Poseidon said:
now there's no necessity to move to an ARF in retirement anymore, ensuring many years of savings.
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Could someone explain this line to me, if leaving a DC scheme and taking lump sums and planning to start multiple PRSAs, was there a necessity for some of them to be ARFs?
 
Setforlife said:
if leaving a DC scheme
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Not relevant to a DC scheme. PRSAs can be 'vested', with the pension lump sum paid and the remaining policy acting the same as a ln ARF. For a DC scheme, a new post retirement product is needed.
 
Poseidon said:
and Royal London itself is the UK's largest mutual insurance/pension provider
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A point that is worth emphasising given that most of the Mutuals operating in the Irish Market were taken out during the great "carpet-bagging bonanza" in the early noughties. Royal Liver's "Value Share" appears to be a genuine attempt to make an element of "With Profits" available. In April 2024 the benefit amounted to .13% policies active on the 31st December 2023. This applies to Personal Retirement Bond (PRB) and Approved Retirement Fund (ARF) products, but apparently not PRSAs. More here.

In any event great to see someone shaking up the cozy norms.
 
Fortune said:
What happens if they make a loss?
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Typically in any "With Profits" arrangement, in poor years there is no bonus/dividend awarded. Note that it is not necessary for the company to make a loss for this to happen, the awards are discretionary and awarded when the company believed it is fair and prudent to do so. Any bonus/divident previously awarded stays and cannot be clawed back.
 
Fortune said:
What happens if they make a loss?
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ValueShare - Royal London IE

Here you'll find out about our unique ValueShare feature. As well as providing you with excellent products, a range of investment options and good service, we also will aim to give your savings a potential boost. This is called ValueShare.
www.royallondon.ie
ValueShare awards are not guaranteed and some years they might be zero.
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If you've got an existing PRSA AVC setup with say Zurich (as a public service pension occ scheme person), can you transfer it across to Royal London or Standard Life without charge? or would Zurich typically make it difficult for you or expensive?
 
messyleo said:
can you transfer it across to Royal London or Standard Life without charge?
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Yes.

Personal retirement savings accounts (PRSAs) - pensionsauthority

A personal retirement savings account (PRSA) is an account you can use to save for your retirement. It is an investment account because you can invest your savings in various investment funds through your account. You can make regular payments or lump sum payments to your PRSA, and these are...
pensionsauthority.ie
PRSAs are portable; you can carry your PRSA from job to job or transfer it to another PRSA provider without any charge or penalty.
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Freelance said:
In April 2024 the benefit amounted to .13% policies active on the 31st December 2023. This applies to Personal Retirement Bond (PRB) and Approved Retirement Fund (ARF) products, but apparently not PRSAs.
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I agree it's great to finally see real competition. The PRSA was only introduced in November 2024 so a customer would have to have a policy in place in December last to have any chance of receiving anything in April 2025. I believe going forward PRSAs will all be valid policies for ValueShare.
 
Poseidon said:
I believe going forward PRSAs will all be valid policies for ValueShare.
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FWIW, from the ValueShare brochure:
If awarded, the value of your ValueShare award will be applied in April as long as your policy was active on 31 December the previous year and on the date the award is given.
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Poseidon said:
Even though this has been mentioned in a thread already on AAM, I wonder why this game-changer has received so little attention, even on Askaboutmoney.
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  • They only deal through brokers and there are many on AAM that don't put any value on brokers
  • Good news isn't something that financial journalists want to write about
  • Not that many people are familair with the brand in Ireland, and fewer that it is a mutual company
  • Those familiar with the regular bonus regimes on the With Profits of old either can't get their head around ValueShare or never heard of it
  • On a limited product range their customer service was good. Remains to be seen whether they can maintain that with more products and (potentially) higher volumes of business. Large Group PRSA salary deduction schemes is the real test of service.
  • Their market share (2023) was something like 1.1%
 
GSheehy said:
Good news isn't something that financial journalists want to write about
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Royal London Ireland enters PRSA market

Royal London Ireland has announced its entry into the Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA) market here.
www.rte.ie

Royal London enters fast-growing Irish PRSA market

Flexible personal pension model has been boosted by government efforts to steer business owners away from single-member schemes
www.irishtimes.com

Royal London is growing its Irish pensions business. The firm reveals its strategy - The Currency

After the Brexit vote, Royal London had a decision to make about its Irish business. The UK’s largest mutual life, pensions and investments provider, which manages around £169 billion (€202 billion) worth of assets, had up until that point operated a branch structure within the country...
thecurrency.news
 
GSheehy said:
Those familiar with the regular bonus regimes on the With Profits of old either can't get their head around ValueShare or never heard of it
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Can you clarify what you mean? What's so mysterious about the ValueShare bonus scheme?
 
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