Personal Retirement Bonds
Personal Retirement Bonds also known as PRBs are private pension plans suited to people exiting their previous employer’s pension scheme. PRBs key advantages are that you can take control of your investment decisions, as well as able to access your money earlier than if leaving it behind, or transferring it to a new employer’s scheme.
- Transfering to a personal retirement bond allows for earlier access to your money and provides tax-free growth.
- When leaving your job your previous employer will provide you with your leaving service options in writing, but shop around you don’t have to use their appointed broker if considering a PRB.
- If your previous employment had defined contribution pension plan, you should always consider a PRB when deciding on what to do with your pension pot accrued with them.
Personal Retirement Bonds
We provide expert impartial PRB advice, with free consultation, the lowest fund management charges and 100% investment allocation.
Not all PRB’s are the same when it comes to investment fund choice, fund performance, and of course associated costs, you’re always best to choose a broker for best value independent advice.
Through our brokerage, your PRB consultation is free and includes personal investment risk profiling with the broadest fund choice, coupled with regular reviews and fund value updates.
PRB Highlights:
- Personal Control.
- Earlier Fund Access.
- Lower Fund Charges.
- Tax-free investment growth.
Pension Investment Videos
Setting Up Your PRB
The Right Advice
There are several ways to best set up your PRB, dependent on your personal circumstances. Our job is to provide the best pension advice, offering the broadest range of investment choices, with a minimum cost aligned to your personal investment risk profile.
When arranging your pension plan you need to be fully aware of the underlying costs involved, as well as choosing the right investment funds and strategy to grow your pension fund over time, with easy access and regular updates.
At One Quote Financial Brokers, our advice-based private pension plan offerings include:
- Free Personal Consultation
- Ongoing Investment Advice
- 100% Net Investment Allocation.
- Lowest Annual Management charges (AMC’s).
- 24/7 Online Access.
- Annual Benefit Statements.
PRB Retirement Benefits
Your Options at Retirement
When leaving a job and taking your pension plan benefits by transferring them into a PRB you are effectively taking the control of future investment decisions, reducing the management costs, and leaving your bond to continue to grow.
At retirement, there are generally two options available:
Generally, individuals can take a tax-free lump sum from a PRB and use the remaining funds to buy an annuity (pension) or invest in an Approved Retirement Fund (ARF).
Personal Retirement Bonds Fund Choice
Assessing your investment options
As a pensions broker, we compare the market for the best pension products and offer the broadest range of investment fund options including; multi-asset, with-profit, alternative, and self-directed options.
One Quote Financial Brokers partnered fund managers include a choice of; Zurich, Aviva, New Ireland, Irish Life, Friends First, Columbia Threadneedle, BlackRock, Dimensional, BNP Paribas, Legal & General, BNY Mellon, State Street, Goodbody, Merrion, JP Morgan, Invesco and Davy.
Reviewing Existing Personal Retirement Bonds
Free audit of your existing Personal Retirement Bond
If you already have a Private Pension Plan in place, you need to be sure of 3 things:
- That the underlying investments are in line with your attitude to investment risk
- That the plan is being funded directly through company monies
- That the underlying charges are reasonable and transparent
Many Private Pension Plans are been overcharged by inbuilt plan costs, including:
- Investment Contribution Charges
- Ongoing Adviser Commissions
- Excessive Fund Manager Fee’s
If you’re in any way unsure about your PRB charges, then you should consider talking to One Quote about a no-obligation pension review.
Personal Retirement Bonds – FAQs
What is a Personal Retirement Bond?
A Personal Retirement Bond is a single premium pension account designed to receive a lump sum payment from your former employer’s occupational pension scheme.
I am leaving my job, what should I do about my pension?
You have 4 options:
- Retaining your benefits with the scheme – this means the funds will remain invested and you can normally claim at any age from 60.
- Transferring your benefits to a new employer’s Occupational Pension Scheme – you can opt to transfer the value of your fund into your new employer’s pension scheme (if applicable).
- Transfer benefits to a Personal Retirement Bond – A Personal Retirement Bond (PRB), which is also sometimes known as a Buy-Out-Bond, is used by the trustees of a pension scheme to buy retirement benefits for former members of their pension scheme. A PRB is a personal policy in the name of the PRB holder. When a member leaves a pension scheme, the value of their fund when they leave the pension scheme is invested in the bond. When they retire, they can then use the proceeds of the PRB to provide retirement benefits.
- Transfer to a PRSA – If the value of your pension is greater than €10,000 you will be required to pay for a Certificate of Comparison showing the pros and cons of transfer to a PRSA. A Certificate of Comparison can typically cost anything between €500 and €2,000 depending on the circumstances. A Certificate of Comparison is not required if the pension scheme is winding up.
Who can take out a Personal Retirement Bond?
A Personal Retirement Bond is available to individuals who hold retained benefits in an occupational pension scheme from previous employment (excluding employer-sponsored PRSAs), or from a pension scheme that is winding up.
How do I set up a Personal Reirement Bond?
The trustees of your previous employer’s pension scheme will set out your leaving service pension options. When choosing a PRB, you return this as your chosen option and complete a PRB application through your broker. Your broker then sends this PRB to the trustees to get their signatures prior to set up.
Can I make contributions to my Personal Retirement Bond?
No. A Personal Retirement Bond is a single premium account that is designed solely to accept a transfer from an occupational pension scheme. No further contributions can be made.
What benefits are payable on my death?
In the event of your death, before you take benefits from the Personal Retirement Bond, the full value of your portfolio at the date of payment will be transferred to your estate.
What are the charges?
With us there is no consultation fee or set-up charge and 100% of your money is invested, meaning there is also no contribution charge. The only charge is the annual fund management charge, which will relate to your choice of investment funds. With 100% of your money invested the average annual investment management charge starts from 0.75% PA and totals 1% for our ongoing which includes online access and annual investment reviews.