speedtomyside
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True Arthur. But the stable bubble is shrinking all the time and the other one is expanding
Trying to scramble a retirement together
- Thread starter speedtomyside
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speedtomyside
Registered User
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Likewise Arthur. It looks like I’ll be leaving the volatile bubble anyway…might be a compromise bubble that fits me.
speedtomyside
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There is a residential plan in place for when we’re unable to take care of her anymore. I don’t really want to go into much more detail here as I find it upsetting tbh.
Completely understandable and not looking for details at all.
It's up there with silver and gold for me.
The Horseman
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Gold and silver are both accepted as having value by most people throughout the world crypto is not.
speedtomyside
Registered User
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Personal details
Your age: 49
Your spouse's age: 46
Number and age of children: 3 (12, 10, 8)
Income and expenditure
Annual gross income from employment or profession: €20-32k self-employed, varies year to year
Annual gross income of spouse/partner: €60k
Monthly take-home pay: varies
I receive Carer's Allowance of €271 per week (taxable), my wife receives Domicilary Care Allowance of €360 per month. I can work 18.5 hours per week, I work this on weekends. She also receives Children's allowance which goes into general savings.
Type of employment - I'm self-employed
Wife is employed in Healthcare
In general are you:
Formerly spender (in 20's) , saver since house/kids (mid-late 30's).
Wife always a good saver but like me, pretty clueless about interest/finance in general.
Summary of Assets and Liabilities
Family home value: €335000
Mortgage on family home: ~€118000 (can't get accurate figure but was €124000 in Feb 2024)
Net equity: €217000
Cash:
€ 30000 (€25k in HYSA, 5k in current accounts)
Family home mortgage information
Lender - PTSB
Interest rate - 4.1%
Type of interest rate: variable
If fixed, what is the term remaining of the fixed rate? N/A
From what I can glean from the last mortgage statement, we will pay another €52k interest (approx) over the term of the mortgage if it's left alone.
Remaining term: (Original term is not relevant) 16 years
Monthly repayment: €852
Other borrowings – car loans/personal loans etc
none
Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month? yes
If not, what is the balance on your credit card? n/a
Pension information
Value of pension fund:
0 but starting in January
Wife has HSE pension that she was told will give her approx 11k per year at retirement. Started in HSE 16 years ago.
She has started making AVCs to a PRSA (New Ireland "Iris" strategy ) of €883 per month (before tax credit)
Projected retirement date 2038 - projected value of PRSA then is €181000 or €159000 ("if account is taken of applicable charges to date" - not sure what that means?) - pension is worth approx €5600 per year to her i think
We both will qualify for contributory pensions at 66
Other savings and investments:
ETFs and stocks - €5k
Bitcoin - 0.76 (worth €71.7k on 25/12/24 at 15:21...)
State Savings - €80k - 3x 10year 'solidarity' bonds maturing in 2030, 2031, 2032...will be worth €89440 in total if left to mature
Other information which might be relevant
Life insurance: Insured for €500k each
Income protection on wife's salary - €53 per month
What specific question do you have or what issues are of concern to you?
I want to do what's best for us in retirement. We will also need to care for our daughter (8) in adulthood. She will most likely have Disability Allowance and will hopefully transition gradually to semi-independence and another residence that can care for her as we age and become unable)
When I liquidate my Bitcoin holdings (I have decided - with the help of the forum - I'm holding too much risk and will keep approx €10k worth) is it a good idea for us to pay down our mortgage (will also use State Savings for this) ? Should we focus on pension contributions instead? Should I kickstart my pension with a sizeable lump sum instead of paying the mortgage? Any other suggestions appreciated!
(I've mentioned a lot of this stuff along the way but wanted to put it all in one place and add more detail if anyone wanted to quickly cast an eye on it. Thanks folks.)
Your age: 49
Your spouse's age: 46
Number and age of children: 3 (12, 10, 8)
Income and expenditure
Annual gross income from employment or profession: €20-32k self-employed, varies year to year
Annual gross income of spouse/partner: €60k
Monthly take-home pay: varies
I receive Carer's Allowance of €271 per week (taxable), my wife receives Domicilary Care Allowance of €360 per month. I can work 18.5 hours per week, I work this on weekends. She also receives Children's allowance which goes into general savings.
Type of employment - I'm self-employed
Wife is employed in Healthcare
In general are you:
Formerly spender (in 20's) , saver since house/kids (mid-late 30's).
Wife always a good saver but like me, pretty clueless about interest/finance in general.
Summary of Assets and Liabilities
Family home value: €335000
Mortgage on family home: ~€118000 (can't get accurate figure but was €124000 in Feb 2024)
Net equity: €217000
Cash:
€ 30000 (€25k in HYSA, 5k in current accounts)
Family home mortgage information
Lender - PTSB
Interest rate - 4.1%
Type of interest rate: variable
If fixed, what is the term remaining of the fixed rate? N/A
From what I can glean from the last mortgage statement, we will pay another €52k interest (approx) over the term of the mortgage if it's left alone.
Remaining term: (Original term is not relevant) 16 years
Monthly repayment: €852
Other borrowings – car loans/personal loans etc
none
Do you pay off your full credit card balance each month? yes
If not, what is the balance on your credit card? n/a
Pension information
Value of pension fund:
0 but starting in January
Wife has HSE pension that she was told will give her approx 11k per year at retirement. Started in HSE 16 years ago.
She has started making AVCs to a PRSA (New Ireland "Iris" strategy ) of €883 per month (before tax credit)
Projected retirement date 2038 - projected value of PRSA then is €181000 or €159000 ("if account is taken of applicable charges to date" - not sure what that means?) - pension is worth approx €5600 per year to her i think
We both will qualify for contributory pensions at 66
Other savings and investments:
ETFs and stocks - €5k
Bitcoin - 0.76 (worth €71.7k on 25/12/24 at 15:21...)
State Savings - €80k - 3x 10year 'solidarity' bonds maturing in 2030, 2031, 2032...will be worth €89440 in total if left to mature
Other information which might be relevant
Life insurance: Insured for €500k each
Income protection on wife's salary - €53 per month
What specific question do you have or what issues are of concern to you?
I want to do what's best for us in retirement. We will also need to care for our daughter (8) in adulthood. She will most likely have Disability Allowance and will hopefully transition gradually to semi-independence and another residence that can care for her as we age and become unable)
When I liquidate my Bitcoin holdings (I have decided - with the help of the forum - I'm holding too much risk and will keep approx €10k worth) is it a good idea for us to pay down our mortgage (will also use State Savings for this) ? Should we focus on pension contributions instead? Should I kickstart my pension with a sizeable lump sum instead of paying the mortgage? Any other suggestions appreciated!
(I've mentioned a lot of this stuff along the way but wanted to put it all in one place and add more detail if anyone wanted to quickly cast an eye on it. Thanks folks.)
Last edited:
I think this is a very good idea and I commend you for seeing the advice others were giving. I think you'll retain some upside risk with this approach and at same time safeguard your wealth.
Because your salary is so low, you don’t have a huge amount of headroom to make pension contributions - 25% of 20-32k per annnum, so only 5-8k a year. I think therefore that the best bang for your buck is in clearing down the mortgage.
Secondly, I would consider solar PV/battery installation if you have the space. You should see a payback period of 7-8 years on a system that should last 25-30 years, ie you’ll be well into your 70’s and it’ll still be going. I recommend this as it’s an inflation hedge. Think of it as an annuity - for about 10k, you could receive approx 1,400 a year in benefit, inflation-adjusted every year and held jointly with your spouse. An annuity of similar size and benefit would cost maybe 35k!
Finally, I don’t know details but I understand carers can purchase vehicles VAT-free. Depending on your driving needs, worth looking at EV’s that would significantly help reduce monthly overheads vs petrol/diesel.
Both of above should help reduce your pension needs in the long term whilst also helping with short-term cash-flow, allowing you to invest/accumulate more.
Secondly, I would consider solar PV/battery installation if you have the space. You should see a payback period of 7-8 years on a system that should last 25-30 years, ie you’ll be well into your 70’s and it’ll still be going. I recommend this as it’s an inflation hedge. Think of it as an annuity - for about 10k, you could receive approx 1,400 a year in benefit, inflation-adjusted every year and held jointly with your spouse. An annuity of similar size and benefit would cost maybe 35k!
Finally, I don’t know details but I understand carers can purchase vehicles VAT-free. Depending on your driving needs, worth looking at EV’s that would significantly help reduce monthly overheads vs petrol/diesel.
Both of above should help reduce your pension needs in the long term whilst also helping with short-term cash-flow, allowing you to invest/accumulate more.
speedtomyside
Registered User
- Messages
- 20
Great ideas there Conor thanks, will look into those. Especially the EV as we do a lot of driving. Physically there are no issues though so it mightn’t apply to us. Will research further!