Pensions & Retirement
Enter your age and a couple of details, and this page tailors to your situation: your relief limit, your real cost, and what a top-up could build.
A personalised illustration from what you enter, using current Revenue rules. It updates as you type — and it's an illustration, not financial advice.
Only your age is needed to start.
Existing pension/AVC, optional.
Illustrative only — returns aren't guaranteed.
At 42, the 25% limit gives real room to accelerate mid-career.
€13,750
relief limit this year (25% of earnings)
€13,750
relief headroom left
Real cost to you after relief: €180/mo
Into your pension each year: €3,600
Kept to age 66 (24 years), that top-up could build about €144,678
Warning: These figures are estimates only. They are not a reliable guide to the future performance of your investment.
Illustration only — current 2026 rates — not advice or a quote
Before charges and tax, assumes a steady 4% return which isn't guaranteed; the value of a pension fund can fall as well as rise. Past performance is not a reliable guide to future performance. Not a recommendation.
Rates as at June 2026.
Investment Warnings
Warning: The value of your investment may go down as well as up.
Warning: If you invest in this product you may lose some or all of the money you invest.
Warning: If you invest in this product, you may not have access to your money until you retire in accordance with the requirements of the Scheme Rules.
Warning: This product may be affected by changes in currency exchange rates.
Warning: Past performance is not a reliable guide to future performance.
An Additional Voluntary Contribution is an extra pension contribution on top of your standard scheme contributions — a Revenue-approved way to increase your retirement fund and benefit from tax relief on the money you save.
You decide how much to contribute. No obligation — full control of the amount and timing.
Contributions receive income-tax relief at your marginal rate, so much of what you save is effectively subsidised.
Your AVC fund is ring-fenced from your main scheme benefits and grows in its own account until you retire.
Revenue sets the maximum share of gross earnings that can attract relief on pension contributions (AVCs included), by age. Your band is highlighted:
⚑ Earnings cap: relief applies on the first €115,000 of gross earnings per year (current Revenue limit).
If your main scheme won't replace enough income, an AVC helps close the gap between what you'll get and what you'll need.
Revenue's age-based limits may let you contribute more than you do now — making the most of the relief available.
Your fund grows free of income tax and CGT while invested, compounding more effectively over time.
Use your AVC toward a tax-free lump sum, an annuity, or an Approved Retirement Fund (ARF).
Joined a scheme later? The higher age-related limits let you build your fund up faster.
Time out of the workforce can dent your main benefits — an AVC helps offset breaks in service.
Your fund can be invested across a range of options to suit your attitude to risk and your time to retirement:
Capital secure with stable, modest returns. Often suits members close to retirement or with a low appetite for risk.
Government and corporate bonds — more return potential than cash, with moderate price movement.
A mix of equities, bonds and property. Popular with 10+ years to retirement seeking balanced growth.
Shares in companies worldwide — higher potential long term, with greater short-term movement.
⚑ Investment returns are not guaranteed. The value of your AVC fund can fall as well as rise, and past performance is not a reliable guide to the future.
You have flexibility in how you draw down your fund — the options depend on your scheme rules:
You can normally take 25% of your retirement fund as a tax-free lump sum, subject to a lifetime maximum of €200,000 tax-free (across all your pensions). Under current Revenue rules the next €300,000 is taxed at the standard rate, and any balance at your marginal rate.
Transfer some or all of your AVC into an ARF — a personal investment account that stays invested after retirement. You draw income as needed and pay tax only on what you withdraw.
Buy a guaranteed income for life (or a fixed term) from an insurer — certainty of income regardless of how long you live or how markets perform.
The options available depend on the type of scheme you belong to. A financial adviser can help you assess what's best for your circumstances.
When you retire, here’s what you do with it: your ARF →Yes — AVCs are flexible. Subject to your provider's terms, you can increase, decrease or pause contributions at any time, without penalty.
Your AVC fund belongs to you. On leaving employment you can typically transfer it to your new employer's scheme, into a Personal Retirement Bond, or leave it invested with the original provider.
If relief isn't applied automatically through payroll, you can claim it through your annual tax return or by contacting Revenue directly. An adviser can guide you through it.
Your figures above are a starting point. An adviser will build the real plan around your scheme, your limits and your goals.
There's no separate fee for life, pensions, investment or protection advice.
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