Synergy Personal Pension

A Synergy Personal Pension could be the ideal plan for you if you're self-employed or in a job where you don't have a company pension. Not only do you benefit from generous tax relief on the money you put in, but your money also grows tax-free until you retire.

Making your investment

It's a fact that the state pension is unlikely to cover much more than your basic needs in retirement. However, investing in a personal pension means you can build up a sum that could give you the kind of income - and lifestyle - you want when you retire.

The sooner you start to invest, the bigger your retirement fund is likely to be.

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You can make regular or single contributions.
The minimum initial single contribution or transfer payment you can make is €5,000.
Single contributions and transfer payments can be made up to a year before you retire.
You can top up your investment with €2,000 or more whenever you want.
You can transfer in money from other personal pensions.
You can stop, start or vary your contributions at any time.

Flexibility

It's not just financial markets that change over time. As life goes on, your circumstances and priorities might change too.

You can change how often you make regular contributions.
You can invest directly in all the main asset classes including equity, property, fixed interest and fixed term bank deposits.
You can tailor your pension investment to suit your investment goals, plus you keep control over the portfolio of investments you've made.
You decide how much and how often your fund pays out.
You can pool any existing personal pensions into your Synergy Personal Pension, making it easier to manage your investments.

Access to your money

You can choose to take the proceeds of your personal pension as an income, a lump sum, or a retirement fund.
Generally speaking, you need to be between 60 and 75 years old to take the proceeds of your pension.
At your retirement, you have the option to take a tax-free lump sum of up to 25% of your retirement fund, subject to a limit of €1,354,521 million.

Then you can decide to take your benefits in a number of ways.

You can opt for an approved retirement fund
You can buy a retirement annuity
You can also take your benefits as a taxed lump sum.

Whatever you choose, any benefits taken in the form of a pension and any withdrawals from an approved retirement fund are regarded as earned income and are liable to PAYE income tax, PRSI and income levy.

Your investment options

Our Synergy Personal Pension includes a huge range of investment options so you can decide how and where your money is invested, as well as who manages it.

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 and commercial property in Ireland and the UK. You may also be able to borrow to buy a property.
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

"Tax relief on the way in, and up to 25% tax-free on the way out. Who said pension planning was taxing?"

A Synergy Personal Pension is a tax efficient way of growing your money until you retire. Once you retire you'll still enjoy significant tax advantages, with the option of taking part of your retirement benefits as a tax-free lump sum.

The government offers generous tax and PRSI relief on your pension contributions, based on your highest rate of tax. So if you were to invest, say, €200 a month, it could actually cost you as little as €118 assuming you pay tax at 41%.

What happens next

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

Important things to consider

The information we've given here is based on our understanding of Irish law and Revenue practice as at May 2010. Tax and legislation may change. The value of your tax relief depends on your specific circumstances and could be affected by future changes in legislation.
Warning: The value of your investment may go down as well as up.

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