Informed Decisions Financial Planning & Money Podcast

Welcome, and thanks for checking out Informed Decisions Blog. Over the past couple of weeks we have focused on managing finances in later life. Last week we explored the 2 options many of us have when we get to draw our retirement funds, Annuity or ARF. Seeing as it currently accounts for the majority of retirement income strategies it will form a large part of coming weeks. We will be exploring how one can attempt to maximise the income one gets from an ARF. Make sure you stay till the end because we will also be exploring how you can aim to ensure that your ARF lasts at least as long as you do - and hopefully longer, potentially leaving a sizeable legacy to loved-ones. This week we will now share insights on some really important aspects of Approved Retirement Funds (ARFs). I was being a little cheeky calling this 'what you should know about ARFs' but I do honestly believe these are the basics. I also believe that knowing these fundamentals will help, whether you already have an ARF, or will have one in the

Should I buy an Annuity or Approved Retirement Fund (ARF)? Unless we are retiring from a defined benefit (DB) pension scheme we will have this decision to make in regards how to access our pension benefits. Once we take out tax free lump sum we will have this decision to make with the balance. It is a big decision with multiple complexities involved, both financial and emotional. Do I want the predictable route or do I want the less predictable but potentially more lucrative route? Do I want the peace of mind knowing that I'll get €x every month for the rest of my days, or do I want the potential to get more every month and potentially leave a legacy? Do I want a piggy-back down Everest or do I want to navigate it on my own two feet? That last sentence might seem odd but bear with me. Before I outline the considerations I believe we should make before deciding on annuity or ARF, I want to put this decision in a little context. I was speaking at a recent 'Point of Retirement' event in Croke Park. As part of my

Welcome back to Informed Decisions with me, Paddy Delaney! A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that the coming 'season' would be focused on how to prepare for and importantly, navigate our incomes in retirement. It's not that I am breaking a promise but this week I want to take a very slight diversion from that, for two very valid reasons a) an article I wrote was published int he Sunday Times this week, and b) I didn't allow myself sufficient time this week to complete the next piece as fully as I had hoped.....so you'll have to wait till next week for that one I'm afraid! Sorry! It is not everyday that someone like you and I gets a full article published in one of the main weekend papers - and for someone that has been an admirer of these papers, and of the people who write articles in them, it was a big deal! So I'd love to share the article with you, in the hope that it is of value. Before I do that I have an ask of you. I have been blogging and podcasting (or 'casting pods' as my mate Lenny calls it!) for

Financial Planning in Ireland is on the up. Based on my experience at least, Planning is what people really really want. They may NEED a product to help them achieve their plan, maybe. But they want a plan first and foremost. They want to know that they will be OK financially, that they can afford to do xyz, that they can graduate from full-time employ at x age, and any number of other personal money-dependent goals. Sure, the actual planning can be hard work, can require work, time, thought, challenge, compromise, debate and decision-making. These activities can and will stir up all sorts of emotions; fear, hope, pain, love, excitement, regret, joy, the list goes on. It is the emotion that it creates is what I get a real kick from. Helping people to plan, and to witness these emotions is what I love most about the work that I do with individual clients. It was in a conversation last week with a client that the topic of inflation came up. It had been mentioned in the news recently, inflation has hit a 7 year

Inheritance tax planning is most certainly a balancing act, is fraught with concerns and challenges, and is one that I see individuals struggling with quite often. When you die you may want your estate to pass to your children or other loved-ones but them having to potentially pay a significant % of the estate in Inheritance Tax may reduce greatly the amount that goes to those you intended, and increase the amount that goes to Revenue. I often hear people say 'sure I won't be here to worry about how much tax they have to pay', and I fully accept that logic. I do however also know that many of us would prefer not to see a significant portion of our assets go to the Revenue due to a lack of planning or perhaps a little foresight. This week on Ireland's #1 finance blog and podcast I will share some ideas that I hope will help anyone that is struggling with this particular conundrum, or indeed may have this conundrum but doesn't yet realise it! I do hope you find it an excellent guide in the main aspects of inher

ARFs, AMRFs, AVCs, Annuities all form part of retirement planning, but as usual there's far more to it than products! Welcome back to Informed Decisions Finance Blog. As part of my own motive to share information and to help others with their financial education I am a volunteer representative of the CCPC (State body that aims to help consumers, check out their website - tons of useful resources). I was delivering a talk to a large group last week in Dundalk, at the end of which we have time for Q&A. What struck me was that most of the questions relate to retirement planning, and indeed how to ensure that the planning we do is effective and of value to us when we get to the 'spending' phase after retirement. What also struck me is that in the past I have typically varied our topics, jumping from beginning to invest, to managing existing investments, regular savings, borrowings, mindset, education etc. Based on feedback and also based on this recent experience the Blog will take a fairly heavy retirement-p

you can enjoy in years to come......so buckle in! Intro: It's been mentioned to me a handful of times that the topics of the Blog tend to be focused on the 'upper end' of things, and that for most 'ordinary people' the figures I talk about here are out of reach. To be fair the figures I sometimes talk about are aspirational, I get that. At the same time I fell that irrespective of the level you are aiming for the principles are the same, the ideas are the same. So whether the figures are 2x or 5x what you are aiming for, go with it and hopefully you'll gain some insights that'll help you get to where you want to get. Also, we gotta surely aim big....or as a friend of mine says 'keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground'! I covered 'can a couple retire with €1m' last year, and this week I will explore how to actually get to that level of a pension pot! In this relatively short piece I will explore the impact of different ages and different strategies in retirement planning, and we'll see how they

Welcome back! Many of us have heard of FIRE (Financial Independence - Retire Early) but not many of us have met many that are actually doing it! In this episode we chat with Michael to hear his story, how he is working on his own financial independence, and the vehicles he is using to maximise his own financial future. Michael stresses that his approach works for him, and that everyone should find their own way based on what they feel will work for them, so please don't replicate what he does without determining the risks and the suitability to you first. Michael's website is here, and we hope you enjoy the interview. Paddy.

Hi, and welcome to Ireland's #1 Finance Blog & Podcast. This is a first for Informed Decisions, and this week you get to hear it! We recently got to know Rob O'Donoghue of the Rob Of The Green Podcast. Rob interviews all kinds of really interesting guests, and has over 100 episodes at this stage, he is dedicated to it for sure! Rob invited me to be a guest on his podcast, and I was happy to oblige. I share the interview with you dear listener, and hope that you get something of value from the conversation we had. We discuss: A Bit Of My Own Background How I Started Blogging & Podcasting Financial Planning Insights My Top Investing Tips Personal Development All of Rob's podcasts are available here on iTunes and here on his Website. I hope you enjoy!?  Paddy.

This week I share a short (but hopefully valuable) piece to raise awareness of something that impacts us all and how we make decisions, and often without us even being aware of it! What Are Biases? If you were shown a photo of 2 different people, based on their appearance, dress, facial expression, ethnicity, and any number of other visuals, we would have our own 'impression' of that person. In essence, though we might not like to admit it, we have made a judgement about that person based on what we see, but more significantly, based on our biases. Biases, which we all possess by the way, can cause us to be unintentionally prejudicial, and are formed over decades of experiences, beliefs, perceptions, information and thought. Our biases can have a positive, negative or neutral impact on our experiences and decisions. Full Blog Here Paddy Delaney  

This week we are going to explore two concepts, 'Diversification' and 'Asset Allocation' which can have significant impact on investment success over the long term, and which are shrouded in mystery and often misunderstood. We are going to tell it like it is, share some insights which may surprise you, and give you some food for thought if this applies to you. What Is Asset Allocation? This is the term most commonly used to refer to the proportional distribution of an investment portfolio between different assets. The asset allocation of a portfolio will determine how much of that investment will be allocated to two or more different asset classes; the most common being Equities, Bonds, Property, Commodities and Cash. The rationale for allocating across asset classes is founded in the alleged correlation in returns between various assets at different points in the cycles of each. The principle here is that if the portion of your portfolio in 'asset A' is in a temporary decline that your portion in 'asset B' w

If I come across another 'Best Investments For 2019' or 'Best place to invest €100,000' article I will lose the plot. Reason being that, just like the title of this blog, these articles really are just another form of click-bait. As we all will know, even if we didn't, click-bait is merely a hook with which to drag you into a website, and ultimately to sell you whatever they have in their warehouse, maybe the 'worlds most powerful torch', or the amazing 'world's quickest can-opener'......things designed to solve problems that you don't really have! Likewise, you may not have the problem of needing to know where to invest €500,000 right now, yet you still find yourself reading this! I am not sure what that says about you, or indeed about me who is writing the blessed thing! Yet there is a proliferation of 'best way to invest such & such' and 'best investments in such & such' on the web here in Ireland. The web is great, I really do love it, but my god it's also so full of dross. I have read 5 such arti

Investors are said to achieve far less in returns than the markets in which they invest. How is that possible you may ask? Typically it is down to investor behaviour. Investors get blamed for doing silly things when it comes to investing, however my take is that it is the financial professionals who must shoulder the responsibility for it. This is not to suggest that the advisors/planners that might assist investors have total control over what an investor does, but I do believe that if an investor is engaging with an advisor/planner that that professional has a duty of care to let that investor know how investments have worked since 'time began'. Without this knowledge then it is only utterly natural that an investor will succumb to fear and do something irreversibly costly which will have a lasting negative impact on their future. Full Blog Here. Paddy Delaney

Welcome back! 'Relief' is an interesting word. If we were to tell someone that we are going to 'relieve myself' it can strike up all sorts of suggestions! Apparently it comes from the Latin 'relevare' which meant 'to alleviate'. In this instance Retirement Relief is all about 'relevare', and to 'relevare' oneself from a burdensome Capital Gains Tax bill! Retirement Relief is a nugget that is quite often missed as a really lucrative opportunity to reduce one's tax bill, particularly if one is a director, or owns a business or company. Can I claim retirement relief? I am on a mission to help answer that very question. Treat this article as an introduction to Retirement Relief, to wit, like everything you read on the internet, if you are going to pursue this type of route then please do (obviously) seek individual guidance on it! I have often wondered why not many people know about it or at least why most of us don't hear much about it.....If we were being cynical we would suggest that the reason is because nobo

Hope all is well?! Last week we shared some ideas on the best way to accumulate €1m, and whether a deposit regular savings account or a pension route might be the most effective way of doing it. We analysed these two routes and factored in deposit rates, pension fund returns, fees and charges and various tax rates that apply to both and how they will impact on the end result. As always, it pays to begin with the end in mind! This week I hope to share ideas on how to select a suitable investment fund, how to avoid common mistakes, and how to deal with the consequences of funds not performing as you may have hoped. If you have read or listened to last weeks' episode you will recall that based on realistic assumptions that the pension route would stand to be in the region of €400,000 more effective than a deposit account! A large portion of this net euro benefit was as a result of the tax reliefs (currently) available to 'Sam' on the contributions made to a pension. The remainder of the net euro benefit came fr

Should I invest in a pension or save money in a bank account!? Last week I shared some ideas about the value (or potential lack thereof) in having a pension of 'average' size. The reaction to that piece was really quite interesting; it seemed to have surprised some people! There is no question that €100,000 is a lot of money, no matter what way you slice it however having that in a pension fund at the point of retirement leaves one with, to be fair, quite limited options to access a meaningful withdrawal income. In last weeks' piece I referred to a previous blog we shared about the value of amassing a pension pot of €1m, and the considerable options that offers one at retirement. That got me thinking and so this week I take a hearty stab at comparing the merits of saving into a regular deposit savings account, or into a pension if one was aiming for a lump sum of €1m! We will explore which of these in this 2-horse race, in Net terms stands to offer you the best possible chance of success. This is not somethi

The title of this piece may seem overly alarmist, however it is my firm belief that most pensions that people here in Ireland have are really ineffective and the investors would quite possibly be better off doing something else with their funds. Are pensions useful? Absolutely they can be hugely useful (read here for 1 example!) however if they are entered into in a half-baked way they can be pretty useless, and unfortunately I have seen it far too many times. We all see lots of articles and blogs and media mentions of not enough people having pensions etc etc, however it is also true that getting a pension just for the sake of it is not necessarily the right solution. In this article I hope to share insights which will potentially help you avoid getting into something that is of no value nor use to you, and give you a good chance of getting into something that stands a strong probability of being of real value to you. What Is The Average Pension or Retirement Income In Ireland? It really depends on what surv

'What should I do with an inheritance' and 'How should I invest an inheritance' are questions we might never hope to need to consider but many are forced to consider these every year here in Ireland. This week in Ireland's award-winning and unbiased personal finance blog I hope share some insights which might be of value to anyone that does every find themselves faced with this question. The reason I guess that this is a relevant topic here is because I have seen several cases where people inherit money, then act irrationally or in ways that is to their own detriment, and they end up blowing the lot on senseless stuff that they wound up regretting a short time later. That is hardly a respectful way to behave with the likely hard-earned legacy that a loved-one has left you!? Likewise I have seen some people handle it really well and have made decisions that have supported their goals, and the result being the inheritance was a positive impact on their life. Surely, a better outcome! I'm out to help even a hand

Welcome back to the new home of Personal Finance in Ireland, where we share insights which we hope help you to avoid mistakes and achieve the results you seek. All we ask in return for sharing these ideas is to tell a friend, and use the ideas with the intention in which they are shared, thanks! -13.9% The title of this week's blog is a little vague or possibly might appear abstract, granted, but I do believe that it's contents will help people to see the light! To help explain, I was speaking to an advisor recently who I was helping to connect with and recognise the real value she can bring to her clients. She is an experienced advisor who is trying to transition from an old-school sales-person to operate in a more transparent and client-focused way. As you know I am all about the transparency and the client-focused side of things so I was more than happy to play a small part in helping her make this transition. Anyway, we were chatting about investments and recent volatility, I passing the recent volatility

Welcome to Informed Decisions, Ireland's #1 Personal Finance Blog & Podcast! Hope you managed to catch last weeks' Podcast with Andy Agathangelou, all about developing more transparency in Financial Services, it was a decent chat! This week I am on a mission to shred some myths about that big question: Should I take my benefits out of my Defined Benefit pension scheme, or leave my benefits in my Defined Benefit pension scheme. Granted it is not a question that everyone of us will need to answer over a life-time but it is one that I see more and more in recent times. In addition to that it is a decision which can potentially have such a significant impact on one's future lifestyle and financial well-being that it deserves a closer inspection! Given that in the region of 60% of people who have a Defined Benefit scheme have left that employment and so will typically have the option to leave if they want. We're gonna try help them understand whether that's a wise move or not! Before we begin I have to declar