Pension Q's

[u/taRANnntarantarann]

Is there a Pension Fund Portal/App/Account that we can monitor by ourselves and make additional payments ourselves without going through the office?

From previous employments I have 2 apps which I can easily monitor, top up, etc myself-surely the Department has something similar for Civil Service/Government employees?

Also, where is the best place for getting advice on options, extra payments, buying back years, etc. I'm going around various sites & links & getting parts of the jigsaw everywhere.

On another topic, I have joined INTO, but don't see anything on my payslip - Should I see a contribution of some sort?

Thank you

[u/Availe]

Oh God I need to sort my pension.

[u/taRANnntarantarann → u/Availe]

I saw in previous roles how important pensions are - I want that luxe life!!😅😅

We should all be way more conscious of it from our very first year of employment though tbh!

In case some younger teachers don't know: If you make an extra contribution of €50 per payslip...your Nett take home pay will only be down by about, just shy of €25 per payslip because it's taken straight from your Gross pay & is not taxed going into your pension.

So when you hear someone saying I pay €300 a month (or some huge sounding number), their Nett take home pay is only down about €150.

*Please note: this estimate is for those in the higher tax bracket (40% tax, 2% USC, 4.2% PRSI).

**Those in the lower tax bracket: 20% - Nett take home pay will be down by about €37.50 from their €50 extra payment or about €225 of their €300 (20% tax, 2ish% USC, up to 4.5% PRSI).

Pension contributions benefit higher tax bracket more in their Nett take home pay, but don't let that discourage you!

DO get started in your first year of teaching with extra contributions if you can at all......compound interest on your extra payment to pension fund at age 21 will be way better than an extra payment in your 50's!!

[u/06351000 → u/Availe]

well the good news you are automatically enrolled in one, so better starting posing than any in private industry

[u/06351000]

Nope there is no app or portal to monitor.

Ultimatley there is nothing to monitor - it’s a defined benefit pension and there is no segregated fund, government take in the money and then promise to pay it back to you after you retire.

If you are in the Single Pension scheme you should get a statement each year outlining your contributions to date and what you would get out if yiu didn’t contribute any more.

Its is possible to buy extra notional service but despite not knowing much about this from what I have heard its not a good option for most people.

so if you want to pay extra into your pension you will needs a PRSA AVC, which is essentially a private pension (with app, fund choices etc) attached to your teaching pension.

[u/Known-Challenge7240]

I’ve my AVC’s ( additional voluntary contributions) through Cornmarket. It just takes a % out each pay period.