Hi,Are you sure your spouse is maxing out his pension? He can put 35 per cent of his wage on top of employer contribution. (Your take home pay seems to me a bit high for the full contributions to be made)
HiHi Kerry
I am trying to understand the implications of your illness?
Will you be able to continue working and earning? Will you have to retire early?
Will he want to take time off to mind you or travel with you while you are well enough to travel?
Will he want to retire if you stop working due to illness?
Brendan
Brendan thank you so much for this advice and taking the time to understand our situation. It is appreciated beyond words xAs there are so many future unknowns, it's very difficult to know what to do.
Maxing the pension increases his chances of retiring early.
However, it puts the money out of reach until he retires, and he may want it earlier.
My gut feeling is that he should not max his pension contributions but keep the money available for flexibility.
As he gets closer to retirement, he can max his pension fund with a few years to go.
In the meantime, I would invest the €53k in a portfolio of about 5 shares in large companies. I would put them in your sole name, so that if you do die before you need to cash the shares, the CGT will disappear.
Depends on the type of pension. Some can be accessed much earlier than that. E.g. I'm in my 50s and am starting to access some of my pension investments (a mix of PRSAs, personal retirement/buy out bond, and paid up personal pension plan - no occupational pensions in case that matters).If we put money into his pension policies we will not be able to access those until he is 66/67.
They are all occupational ones. 6 of them and then the state pensions. One which is the superannuation in Oz, can be accessed after 60. All so confusing! Trying to get it all organised.Depends on the type of pension. Some can be accessed much earlier than that. E.g. I'm in my 50s and am starting to access some of my pension investments (a mix of PRSAs, personal retirement/buy out bond, and paid up personal pension plan - no occupational pensions in case that matters).
Thank you so much. XBest wishes to you with your illness, I’m sure it’s a very tough time, compounded by trying t make sound financial decisions in the midst of such uncertainty. I’d agree with Brendan, buy some shares but do keep cash on hand as a buffer and for maximum flexibility. Important too to set aside a bit to do something nice for yourselves that you can both enjoy and help take your mind off your worries for a bit. Take care.
For the occupational pensions, the ones relating to earlier employments came be taken from age 50.They are all occupational ones. 6 of them and then the state pensions. One which is the superannuation in Oz, can be accessed after 60. All so confusing! Trying to get it all organised.
Thank you so much Steven. His company have been very good and will give him leave if he is a match. The pensions are different drawdown years beginning from 2030. But they wouldn’t be quite enough until a fund in 2033 can be drawn down. We got solar which has minimised our costs and I am a lover of spreadsheets. So I have a very comprehensive list of expenses. My family always laugh at me!First thing is you need to work out an expenditure plan.
On the medical side, if you have a successful kidney transplant, what will life be like afterwards? Will it get back near normal?
- What is on the list of what you want to do and how much will it cost?
- How much does it cost to run the household?
- How much is personal expenditure
- What are motoring costs
- Medical bills
As has already been posted already, occupational pensions can be accessed from 50 anyway, so there is no restriction to access. Work PRSAs can be accessed before age 60 if your husband retires. You disclosed that there are 6 plans, so they can all be accessed at different times anyway, you don't have to do them all at once.
What is your husband's employer like? Are they sympathetic to your illness? Will they allow your husband additional unpaid leave during the year to take these trips without him having to leave his job (and the pension scheme). You could use some of the other pensions to fund the trips while he remains a member of the scheme.
I know nothing about the rules around the Oz Super scheme to know about early access to it. Is there an ability to access it early in the situation of ill health?
Do up an expenditure list and then use the different pots of money to fund it like a jigsaw. It may mean maturing a pension or two and using it all up, knowing that you will have the Oz pension to replace it in a few years or another income stream coming onboard at a different time.
I wouldn't look at investing the cash you have, you could spend some of it down on trips and leave some of it for emergency use.
For your son, he needs to start investing and get the markets to do some of the heavy lifting. A regular saver into a world index fund with a life company will be the easiest way to do this.
Steven
http://www.bluewaterfp.ie (www.bluewaterfp.ie)
This is likely not the case. Contact the pension providers and ask each when is the earliest they can be drawn downThe pensions are different drawdown years beginning from 2030.
When work pensions are being set up, a "normal retirement age" must be given. This can be anything from age 60 to 70. It does not mean you cannot access the money before that age. In the case of pensions from old employers, you can access the pension from age 50.Thank you so much Steven. His company have been very good and will give him leave if he is a match. The pensions are different drawdown years beginning from 2030. But they wouldn’t be quite enough until a fund in 2033 can be drawn down. We got solar which has minimised our costs and I am a lover of spreadsheets. So I have a very comprehensive list of expenses. My family always laugh at me!
Thank you for your advice regarding our son. I will get him working on that. It is a pity to see money sitting in the credit union earning nothing.
Thank you x
That would be brilliant. I will get on that after dialysis today. Thank you so muchThis is likely not the case. Contact the pension providers and ask each when is the earliest they can be drawn down
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?