Informed Decisions Independent Financial Planning & Money Podcast

If you're saving for retirement or nearing the end of your career, or eyeing retirement or a 'handier' role :) a significant change is on the horizon that could meaningfully affect how much tax you'll pay on your pension. From 2026, the Standard Fund Threshold (SFT), the maximum value you can accumulate across all retirement benefits without triggering additional tax charge, will begin to increase for the first time in over a decade.
For many high earners and diligent savers, this represents a genuine opportunity to improve tax efficiency, reduce liabilities, and plan more strategically around when and how to access your retirement benefits. This piece aims to keep it plain English, and I hope you will learn:
‍ • What the Standard Fund Threshold is in 2026 and why it matters • How your pension is valued for SFT • What tax applies if you breach it, and differences between Defined Benefit, and the rest! • Smart planning moves before you retire • When to get help and stop guessing

If you are thinking about retiring in 2026, or even easing back from full time work, this is the year where small decisions start to matter a lot.

In this week's episode, I look at how to check if retirement is actually realistic, which pension moves still make sense, and how to think about income rather than just fund size.
This is about clarity, not hype. And avoiding expensive mistakes!
 
Key talking points
 
• Why the year before retirement is the most valuable planning window
• The five numbers you must know before saying "I'm nearly there"
• Why income planning beats obsessing over pension fund size
• Pension contribution and AVC opportunities that disappear if you delay
• Cash buffers and why they reduce stress more than people expect
• When investment risk becomes your friend and when it becomes a problem
• Sequence risk explained in plain English
• Common mistakes we see from people one to two years out from retirement
• What you should have ready before speaking to a financial planner
 
I hope it helps!

If you have an Executive Pension/SSAS or are a member of an Occupational Pension Scheme approaching retirement, you might want to know about these big changes coming your way!
Two major pension updates are colliding;
- One from European regulation relating to 'Exec Pensions' and 'Small Self Administered' schemes (SSAS) which impacts self employed directors - One from Revenue relating to employees and losing control over their group pension schemes after 'Normal Retirement Age' (NRA)
Both can change where your pension sits, how it is invested, and when you can access it.
And all of it can happen without your say so, if you do nothing.
‍Key points I'll share today;
What the European IORPS2 deadline really means for Executive and SSAS pensions
How automatic moves to Master Trusts work
The big Revenue change limiting pension transfers from Occupational Pension Schemes
Why early retirement plans are most exposed
What practical steps make sense now
I hope it helps.

Welcome to the very last, and shortest, Informed Decisions Blog of 2025!
We've had a very interesting investment year so far, and I want to share some brief investment observations and comparisons of the year.
Also, I'll share a few acknowledgements of those that helped me and Informed Decisions during the year.
Thanks, 
Paddy.

In this week's podcast -
Your Essential Pre-Retirement Checklist
Retirement starts long before you hand back the laptop or walk out of the office for the last time! The real work happens in the final decade, when you bring everything together; pensions, savings, tax, debts, lifestyle, and the practical bits that make life run smoothly.
This pre-retirement checklist Ireland will hopefully give you a clear, practical path that helps you can step into the next stage with clarity and confidence (not a big ask is it!?).
What we'll explore in this week: • How to calculate your retirement number • How to review pensions and income sources in an Irish context • How to tidy up investments without derailing long-term returns or compounding • The key tax and admin tasks to complete before leaving work • When professional planning adds value
 
I hope it helps