Synergy ARF

The Synergy approved retirement funds could be the solution for you if you're looking for a retirement option that offers all the control, choice and flexibility you need. The major benefits of approved retirement funds are that you can use them to provide your retirement income when and how you want, and in the event of your death the value of the investment will pass to your estate.

There are two types of approved retirement fund:
ARF - An ARF is a retirement contract in which you can invest all or part of your pension fund as a lump sum.
AMRF - An AMRF is a similar kind of investment to an ARF, but it is a safety net required by the Government if you don't have sufficient guaranteed income.

Making your investment

When you're investing in an ARF or an AMRF, the money must come from an approved pension product.

You can make an initial investment of €10,000 or more.
You can top up your investment with €5,000 or more whenever you want.
The maximum investment into an AMRF is €63,500.
100% of your money will be invested if you're aged 70 or younger (99% is invested you're aged between 71 and 75).
Receive an extra 1% allocation if you invest €100,000 or more for 10 years
They are available to proprietary (5%) directors who are members of an approved company pension scheme, to other members using their AVC funds and to PRSA and personal pension holders.
Available to:
- proprietary (5%) directors who are members of an approved company pension scheme and other members using their AVC funds
- PRSA and personal pension holders.

ARF: Approved retirement funds allow you to keep some, or all, of your retirement fund invested. The size of your retirement fund, and the income you get from it, also depends on how and where you invest your money

AMRF: If you have less than €12,700 a year guaranteed income (a pension or annuity that is guaranteed to be payable for the rest of your life, including any State pension), you need to invest the first €63,500 of your retirement fund in an AMRF (or buy an annuity) before you can invest in an ARF.
The AMRF acts as a safety net by not allowing you to withdraw any of the original money invested until you reach the age of 75. Only the investment growth can be withdrawn. At age 75, the AMRF converts to an ARF and the capital can then be withdrawn if you wish.

Flexibility

The Synergy approved retirement funds give you the scope to make your own investment choices and have control over your money.

You have an extensive choice of investment options and fund managers to help you achieve diversification within your portfolio and maximise your retirement income.
You can invest directly in all the main asset classes including equity, property, fixed interest and fixed term bank deposits.
You can switch from one fund or asset into another whenever you want.
You can use your ARF or AMRF to purchase an annuity at any time from either Standard Life or another annuity provider.

As with an ARF, you can choose what your AMRF invests in.

Access to your money

You can access your money at any time through regular income or occasional withdrawals (€900 or more).
Your regular income can be provided quarterly, half-yearly, or on a yearly basis in several different ways:

as a fixed amount before tax (maximum of 5% of your investment per annum).
as a percentage of your policy value before tax (maximum of 5% per annum).

If you choose to take a regular income no early encashment charge will apply.
If you withdraw all or part of your money within the first six years of your investment, it will be subject to an early encashment charge because the Synergy ARF is designed for medium to long term investments.
It is not possible to take a regular income from the Synergy AMRF and you can only withdraw investment gains before age 75

Your investment options

Our Synergy approved retirement funds include a huge range of investment options so you can decide how and where your money is invested.

Synergy funds: You can achieve the diversification you need within your portfolio thanks to a selection of different investment styles including Actively Managed, Multi-manager, and Index Tracking. See the Investment Options guide for the full list of funds.
Direct property: Invest in your choice of any suitable residential or commercial property in Ireland and the UK.
Shares: You can choose from a selection of stockbroking options including Execution only, Discretionary and Advisory.
Fixed term bank deposit: You can choose to have your money earn interest in a fixed term bank deposit account.

You can find more information in our Investment Options guide and the Property guide.

Tax

The Synergy approved retirement funds can be an effective part of post-retirement tax planning. Your financial adviser can show you how tax efficient they can be.

Withdrawals (regular income from an ARF, or withdrawals from ARF and/or AMRF) are subject to PAYE income tax and PRSI. For further details, please see the Key Features document.
Your ARF transfers to your estate when you die. See the Key Features document for information on taxes that could apply.

What happens next?

Before you take out a Synergy ARF or AMRF with us, you'll need to speak to your financial adviser to get a brochure, an Illustration (of benefits and charges), Key Features document and the Investment Options guide.

Important things to consider…

Approved retirement funds may not be suitable for everyone, so as part of your preparations for retirement and to ensure a retirement strategy that's right for you, it is essential that you seek professional advice from your financial adviser.

Unlike an annuity, an ARF could run out of money if the assets you select perform poorly, and/or you live a long time and/or you've set your income level too high.

The Key Features document contains further information, including details on tax and charges.

Warning: The value of your investment may go down as well as up.

The information we have given is based on our understanding of Irish law and Revenue practice as at May 2010. Tax and legislation may change in the future.

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