Hi Happy Girl,
I took out an occupational pension six years ago and it sounded like it was quite flexible and could be taken over by a future employer. However, none of the two companies I worked for after that had such a scheme, and I have now frozen the 7.000 EUR and started a PRSA. Many employers now seem to realize that PRSAs are more flexible and don't offer occupational pensions anymore. However the employers PRSA schemes often take a 5% charge plus management fee to invest you money into a PRSA, so it is important to see how much your employers contribution would be, as some of it will be eaten away by the fees of the company PRSA. If you have the choice opt for a 0%/1% PRSA, but I am not sure if an employer would contribute to it (mine does not, only to the company PRSA!) Many of us end up with multiple mini-pensions at the end. I have now opened up my third pension, after occupational pension (frozen), company PRSA (frozen), a 0%/1% PRSA. All of these are available with the same funds e.g. Irish Life consensus. All underlie different terms & conditions and are not near as flexible as it appears to the consumer. While it is not necessarily a disadvantage to end up with three pensions, I believe that the confusion keeps people from taking out a pension and it could become a bureaucratic nightmare unless you manage to keep yourself organized.
Fanny