If you're saving for retirement or nearing the end of your career, or eyeing retirement or a 'handier' role :) a significant change is on the horizon that could meaningfully affect how much tax you'll pay on your pension. From 2026, the Standard Fund Threshold (SFT), the maximum value you can accumulate across all retirement benefits without triggering additional tax charge, will begin to increase for the first time in over a decade.

For many high earners and diligent savers, this represents a genuine opportunity to improve tax efficiency, reduce liabilities, and plan more strategically around when and how to access your retirement benefits. This piece aims to keep it plain English, and I hope you will learn:

‍
• What the Standard Fund Threshold is in 2026 and why it matters
• How your pension is valued for SFT
• What tax applies if you breach it, and differences between Defined Benefit, and the rest!
• Smart planning moves before you retire
• When to get help and stop guessing

If you have an Executive Pension/SSAS or are a member of an Occupational Pension Scheme approaching retirement, you might want to know about these big changes coming your way!

Two major pension updates are colliding;

- One from European regulation relating to 'Exec Pensions' and 'Small Self Administered' schemes (SSAS) which impacts self employed directors
- One from Revenue relating to employees and losing control over their group pension schemes after 'Normal Retirement Age' (NRA)

Both can change where your pension sits, how it is invested, and when you can access it.

And all of it can happen without your say so, if you do nothing.

‍Key points I'll share today;

• What the European IORPS2 deadline really means for Executive and SSAS pensions

• How automatic moves to Master Trusts work

• The big Revenue change limiting pension transfers from Occupational Pension Schemes

• Why early retirement plans are most exposed

• What practical steps make sense now

I hope it helps.

Welcome to the very last, and shortest, Informed Decisions Blog of 2025!

We've had a very interesting investment year so far, and I want to share some brief investment observations and comparisons of the year.

Also, I'll share a few acknowledgements of those that helped me and Informed Decisions during the year.

Thanks,

Paddy.

In this week's podcast -

Your Essential Pre-Retirement Checklist

Retirement starts long before you hand back the laptop or walk out of the office for the last time!
The real work happens in the final decade, when you bring everything together; pensions, savings, tax, debts, lifestyle, and the practical bits that make life run smoothly.

This pre-retirement checklist Ireland will hopefully give you a clear, practical path that helps you can step into the next stage with clarity and confidence (not a big ask is it!?).

What we'll explore in this week:
• How to calculate your retirement number
• How to review pensions and income sources in an Irish context
• How to tidy up investments without derailing long-term returns or compounding
• The key tax and admin tasks to complete before leaving work
• When professional planning adds value

I hope it helps

In this week's podcast - The Income Investor's Dilemma in Ireland

Many investors in their 50's and 60's want dependable and sustainable incomes from their investment assets, fair enough!

You may be wondering should you invest in Dividend Stocks or Distributing Funds in order to generate income - and it is a fair question.

The choice often falls between 'Dividend Stocks' and 'Distributing Funds' (both pay dividend income) or 'Total Return Stocks' and 'Accumulating Funds' (don't pay dividends, instead accumulate profits in the business or fund).

Key points (I hope!) you'll take away:
• Why dividends feel attractive
• How Irish tax rules affect dividend income
• When bonds can support more stable withdrawals
• How total-return investing can offer control and flexibility
• Practical ways to build retirement income without chasing dividends purely for the sake of it!

I aim to walk through how dividends really work, how Irish tax treatment impacts, and the key differences between it and a total-return approach for your income plan.

And while we won't be going hugely deep into the weeds here today - it will hopefully help clarify a few things for you.

This episode looks at practical ways to pull income from pensions without handing more to Revenue than you need to.
You hear how rental income fits into the picture, how a non-earning partner's tax band can save you money, and why timing matters when you've no salary coming in.
The chat keeps circling back to one point. Your own setup dictates the smartest drawdown plan.

Takeaways

• You can pull income from pensions in a planned, tax-efficient way.

• Your personal position drives every decision. No two households look the same.

• Rental income changes the order in which you tap different pots.

• A partner with no taxable income can unlock unused standard-rate band.

• Taking modest amounts early can help you avoid chunky tax later.

• A quick yearly review keeps you from drifting into higher tax.

• State pensions may give you room to delay pension withdrawals.

• Mixing income sources often gives you steadier and cleaner results.

• Avoiding forced withdrawals in later life protects long-term value.

• You worked for it. You should enjoy it.

Is now the right time to move a chunk of your investment or pension assets out of equities, and into Bonds, Money Market Funds or Cash?

It's a question that you may be asking because of a headline you read, an online commentator with a scary statistic, or someone you chatted with spoke of impending doom!

I'll not tell you here whether you should or you should not, but I will briefly share actual potential outcomes for you to consider, before you give it another seconds' thought!

I hope it helps!

This podcast is guidance only. Always seek qualified financial advice for your own situation