A Personal Retirement Savings Account is a long-term personal retirement account which is designed to enable you to save for retirement in a flexible manner. A PRSA is a contract between you and a PRSA provider in the form of an investment account. With a PRSA you are allowed to change employment and continue to use the same PRSA. You can also switch from one PRSA to another at any time, free of charge.

There are two types of PRSA. Standard PRSA; where the charges you pay are at a set level and there are restrictions on how your money is invested. Non-standard PRSA; where there is no maximum level on the charges you pay and there are fewer investment restrictions.

A standard PRSA is likely to meet the needs of most people. The maximum charges you can be asked to pay are 5% of contributions paid and 1% per year of the value of your PRSA fund.

If you put your money into a standard PRSA it is invested only in pooled funds. This is a type of fund, where the risk is spread across a large number and type of investments.

Do you need a PRSA?
To see if you need a PRSA you need to answer some questions.

Is there a good scheme available to you through your job? If not, you need to make some provision for your retirement and, therefore, you could consider a PRSA.

If you already have good pension arrangements you may not need to invest any more money; or you may want to top-up your pension fund by making Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs).

If you believe you require further clarification on any matter relating to a Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA) please feel free to contact us for independent and impartial advice.