Tanner’s Tips comprises of a father and daughter team, an unstoppable duo fighting apathy in the world of finance.
Do you know your entitlements under the State Pension? There are two types of State Pension, Contributory and Non Contributory.
The State Pension (Contributory) is paid to people from the age of 66 (if born on or before 1954), 67 (if born between 1955-1960) or 68 (if born on or after 1961) who have enough Irish social insurance contributions. It is not means-tested. You can have other income and still get a State Pension (Contributory). This pension is taxable but you are unlikely to pay tax if it is your only income.
The means-tested State Pension (Non-Contributory) is a payment for people aged over 66 (or 67/68 depending on date of birth) who do not qualify for a State Pension (Contributory) or who only qualify for a reduced contributory pension based on their insurance record. This pension is taxable but you are unlikely to pay tax if it is your only income.
For more information on the State Pension (Contributory) and State Pension (Non-Contributory) please visit www.citizensinformation.ie
You will notice that the State Pension is likely to leave you with an ‘income gap’. What I mean by that is there is likely to be a shortfall in your income post retirement, compared to your earnings while in employment. Calculating your ‘income gap’ is fairly simple, just take your income before retirement, and subtract what you would be getting from the State Pension, either Contributory or Non-Contributory. In order to fill this gap, you may need to make separate retirement provisions.
Aviva have a wonderful tool in order to assist you in calculating your ‘income gap’: https://www.mindthepensiongap.ie/
Consider starting a personal pension. We have previously discussed Pensions in a separate post.
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We offer advice on pensions, and can arrange a pension for you if that is something you want to do. Please contact us if you want to discuss your options.
We would love to get feedback on these posts, and if there is anything in particular you would like to hear about, please let us know.
