Your retirement options

You can take your benefits from age 60. Or, if you prefer, you can continue working and adding to your pension fund. You can delay taking your benefits any time up to age 75.

If you're seriously ill and need to retire early

You can take your benefits from as early as age 50, assuming you are an employee and retiring from that employment. Otherwise, the earliest is age 60.

Or, if you prefer, you can continue working and adding to your pension fund if you want to delay taking your benefits any time up to age 75.

If you're seriously ill and need to retire early

You can take your benefits from age 60, or you can take early retirement from age 50 in certain circumstances.

If you prefer, you can continue working and adding to your pension fund. You can delay taking your benefits any time up to age 70.

If you're seriously ill and need to retire early

As you are no longer resident in the Republic of Ireland, the options available to you at retirement are restricted.

We suggest you contact your financial adviser or our claims team on 01 639 7000, for further details.

You are entitled to a cash lump sum from your pension policy, normally up to 25% of your policy value (or, if you have a company pension, you can take your cash lump sum based on salary and service instead).

The first €200,000 will be tax free;
The next €300,000 will be taxed at 20%;
Anything more than €500,000 will be treated as income and taxed under the PAYE system.

If you've taken benefits from a pension already, any lump sum you received will count towards these limits. For more information, please talk to your financial adviser.

You could use it to pay off your debts, fund that trip of a lifetime or invest it so that it has the potential to grow in a tax efficient way – it's entirely up to you.

Bear in mind that by taking a lump sum, you'll have less left in your pension fund with which to buy an annuity or invest in an approved retirement fund.

You can use your pension fund to buy a guaranteed income for the rest of your life. You can choose to have your annuity income stay the same or automatically increase each year.

You can also choose for your spouse/civil partner to carry on being paid some or all of the income after you die.

The choices you make will affect the income you get, for example, the more you want your spouse/civil partner to be paid after your death, the lower your income will be.

The income stops when you (and your partner with a joint life annuity) die, so there are no funds to leave your dependants.

You can choose to have your income guaranteed for a number of years, so there is still an income paid after your early death.

What's the difference between an annuity and an ARF?

Do you want a guaranteed income (Annuity) or a flexible income (Approved Retirement Fund) or both?

An approved retirement fund (ARF) allows you to leave your pension fund invested and adjust income to suit your needs. You must withdraw a certain percentage each year from your ARF:

• 4%, if you're 60 years of age or over for the full tax year, or
• 5%, if you're 70 years of age or over for the full tax year, or
• 6%, if you've a combined ARF and vested PRSA assets of €2 million or more, and aged 60 or over the full tax year.

Withdrawals on an ARF are treated as income and are taxed under the PAYE system.

With an ARF, you can leave the funds to your family (tax payable will depend on who you leave it to).

What's the difference between an annuity and an ARF?

Do you want a guaranteed income (Annuity) or a flexible income (Approved Retirement Fund) or both?  

Please complete Retirement Instruction Form for Personal Pensions and PRSA  with your financial adviser.

If you want to invest in an ARF with us, using money currently invested with another provider, please complete ARF application form  with your financial adviser.

To avoid a delay in receiving your payments, you should fully complete the form and send to us with all supporting documents.

1. If you're unsure of your options, complete Retirement options - Questionnaire and send to Standard Life, 90 St Stephen's Green, Dublin D02 F653. Upon receipt we'll calculate your benefits and give you options, you should then talk to your financial adviser
2. If you know what you want and decide to take your pension benefits, review and complete
Retirement Instruction Form for Company Pensions, Buy Out Bonds and PRSA AVC with your financial adviser
If you want to invest in an ARF with us, using money currently invested with another
provider, please complete ARF application form with your financial adviser.

To avoid a delay in receiving your payments, you should fully complete the form and send to us
with all supporting documents.

1. Certified copy of your recent bank statement (within the past 6 months)

2. Copy of valid photo identity for you, for example, current passport, current drivers licence

All of the above can be scanned and emailed to us at fundtransactions@standardlife.ie or posted to Standard Life, 90 St Stephen's Green, Dublin D02 F653.

If you scan and email documents containing personal information, you must apply adequate protection. There’s no guarantee that any email you send us will be received, or that it will remain private and unaltered during internet transmission.

Documents can be certified by:

- Qualified Financial Adviser
- An Garda Siochana
- Chartered Accountant
- Solicitor or Notary Public
- Financial Institution
- An Post
- Your GP

You can take original documents to any of the above, where they will stamp and sign a photocopy, to certify that it is the same as the original.

It depends on your circumstances, whilst taking the following into account.

Transferring pensions isn’t for everyone.

Talk to your financial adviser or contact us on (01) 639 7070 before you decide.

Calls may be monitored and/or recorded to protect both you and us and help with training. Call charges will vary.