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Approved Retirement Fund

Funding your next chapter

You’ve saved and invested to grow your pension to where it is today and now need to think about how you can make it last. Although at retirement you’re no longer working, you’ll still have living costs and expenses to cover, so what you do with your pension pot next is an important financial decision.

An Approved Retirement Fund (ARF) is a flexible arrangement that allows you to remain invested in funds after retirement and withdraw money as and when you want. Any investment growth within the fund is currently tax free, however, withdrawals are taxed.

ARFs are managed by Qualifying Fund Managers (QFMs) in which you can invest the proceeds of your pension fund when it matures. A Qualifying Fund Manager (QFM) is a financial institution (such as Royal London Ireland) that is authorised to operate ARFs.

By having an Approved Retirement Fund with Royal London Ireland, you can secure your financial future and enjoy the benefits of an Irish Pension. 

 

To help you understand more about an ARF, we've answered some frequently asked questions about ARFs. You can also read some media coverage relating to Approved Retirement Funds, pensions and funds in the Latest News section of our website.

 

Is an ARF suitable for you?

An ARF might suit you if: An ARF might not suit you if:
You have taken a tax-free cash lump sum of up to 25% of the pension fund value and now want to invest the remaining balance. You have taken a tax-free cash lump sum
of up to 1.5 times your final salary.
You're looking to invest €30,000
or more.		 You're looking to invest less than
€30,000.
You can accept that the value of your
fund could fall as well as rise.		 You’re not comfortable with the fact that
your fund could fall as well as rise.
You would like to take a regular
withdrawal each year.		 You want a regular guaranteed pension
income to last you for life.
You’re happy with the choice of funds on
the ARF.		 You’re not happy with the choice of
funds on the ARF.
You want to pass on the money in your
ARF to your family when you die.		 You want to take out an annuity when you
retire.

How a Royal London ARF works

Control

Gives you personal control of your ARF and the income you take.

Choice

Let’s you choose how to invest from our range of funds.

Growth

Any growth your investments make is tax-free.

Contributing, Investing, Benefitting

  • Contributions - The value of your pension fund may be transferred into an ARF.
  • Investment and Growth - Once you set up an ARF, the next step is choosing how best to invest your money. That is based on your own investment goals and the level of risk that you’re willing to take. With Royal London Ireland, you’ll have access to a wide range of different funds, with varying degrees of risk. We’re sure you'll find a solution that works for you.
  • An income to suit your needs - You can decide how you’d like to take a regular income/withdrawals from your ARF. You can nominate a specific fund that you would like your regular income/withdrawals to be paid from.

Your Financial Broker can explain an ARF further and help you to make the best choice to suit your personal situation.

Investing in your retirement

These days, you have more choice than ever about how to invest money in your retirement. But while choice is a good thing, it can make it harder to pick the option that’s best for you.

At Royal London Ireland we'll try to make this as clear and easy to understand as possible. We have lots of ways for you to invest your retirement savings. They’re all about balancing the reward you want to get with the risk you’re prepared to take.

ValueShare - We want you to share in our success!

As well as providing you with excellent products, a range of investment options and good service, we also will aim to give your savings a potential boost, called ‘ValueShare’.

Quite simply, in the years that Royal London Ireland does well, we’ll look to boost your savings with an additional share of our success, on top of your fund returns.

 

More about ValueShare  

Transparent Charges

We know pension charges can be confusing. That's why we want ours to be as easy to understand as possible but also fair. You can read more here about the charges that may apply to your Royal London Approved Retirement Fund (ARF) and should be read alongside the brochure Your Guide to our Approved Retirement Fund (ARF).

More about our Approved Retirement Fund

Purple glasses

Product Brochure

A guide to our Approved Retirement Fund (ARF)

View brochure (PDF 1199kb)  about Product Brochure
teal man's wallet

ValueShare Brochure

A potential boost to your pension product policy.

Find out more (PDF 7.54kb)  about ValueShare Brochure
Purple weighing scales

Fund Guide

Learn more about our funds with this helpful guide.

View fund guide (PDF 576kb)  about Fund Guide

Take some advice

We’re big believers in the value of impartial advice to help you enjoy the best possible retirement outcomes. So, if you’re looking to make the most of your pension savings, we’d recommend talking to a Financial Broker.

If you don't already have one, you can find one here.

Ring our Dublin team

for more information:

01 429 3333

Monday to Friday: 8am - 6pm

We recommend discussing your retirement options with your Financial Broker.

They’ll be able to look at your individual circumstances and give you a personal recommendation on how to get the most from your pension savings.

Our Helping Hand service

Helping Hand gives one-to-one personal support from your own dedicated nurse from RedArc who can help you and your family cope with the devastating effects that illness or bereavement can have.

More about Helping Hand

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: The income you get from this investment may go down as well as up.
Warning: These products may be affected by changes in currency exchange rates.