Informed Decisions: Ireland's Independent Retirement Planning Podcast

Most people approaching retirement believe their job is to reduce risk. Get out of equities. Move into something safe. Ben Carlson disagrees — and he has the research to back it up.

Ben is Director at Ritholtz Wealth Management in the US, author of Risk and Reward (Harriman House, May 2026), and one of the most widely read financial writers working today. He's spent his career studying every major market crash in modern history: the Great Depression, Japan's lost decades, the dot-com bust, 2008 and what they actually mean for long-term investors.

In this episode, Paddy and Ben talk about Ben's new Book:

• They cover the yin and yang of Risk and Reward
• Why globally diversified investors still came out ahead from financial crises
• The three dimensions of risk tolerance (willingness, need, and ability)
• How to think about drawdown and bucketing, inflation psychology, and the only benchmark that actually matters for someone approaching retirement.

Ben's new book Risk and Reward is available now in Kindle, paperback, and audiobook (read by Ben himself) from Harriman House.

There's a full written article about this Interview with Ben on the blog at http://www.informeddecisions.ie/post/retirement-risk-and-reward-ireland

If this episode raised questions about where you sit on the age-related table or whether your current contribution strategy is going to get you where you want to go, that's exactly what we work through with clients. Find out more at https://www.informeddecisions.ie

DISCLAIMER: This content is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute personalised financial advice. Always speak to a qualified, independent advisor about your own situation.

Most Irish high earners are claiming roughly half the pension tax relief available to them. Not because the rules are complicated, but because the contribution percentage set years ago has simply never been revised.

In this episode, Paddy walks through

• the age-related contribution limits (15% to 40%)
• the €115,000 earnings cap and what it actually means in practice
• and a real worked example of a director, age 56, on €180k — who could be claiming €16,100 in tax relief every year but isn't.

He also covers the year-end October timing window (you can still reduce last year's tax bill with one decision), five common mistakes that quietly cost high earners thousands, and why the personal contribution question and the structural question, PRSA versus company pension, really need to be looked at together.

There's a full written article with the age-related table, the worked example, and year-end timing details on the blog at www.informeddecisions.ie/post/pension-tax-relief-ireland-explained

Free Webinar: Should You Sell Your RSUs? - A Practical Guide for Tech Employees in Ireland, 20th May 2026: https://www.informeddecisions.ie/webinar/webinar-should-you-sell-your-rsus

If this episode raised questions about where you sit on the age-related table or whether your current contribution strategy is going to get you where you want to go, that's exactly what we work through with clients. Find out more at https://www.informeddecisions.ie

DISCLAIMER: This content is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute personalised financial advice. Always speak to a qualified, independent advisor about your own situation.

Most ARF holders know their fund value. Most know Revenue requires a minimum annual drawdown. Very few have stopped to ask whether meeting that minimum is actually a strategy, or simply the path of least resistance.

In this episode, Paddy explores safe withdrawal rates in an Irish context: the research on real retiree behaviour, why the 4% rule is both useful and misunderstood, and why the sequence of returns in the first five years of retirement carries disproportionate weight on long-term outcomes.

He walks through a concrete sequence-of-return scenario: same starting fund, same average annual return, same withdrawal rate, completely different outcomes and shares a real-life case study of a retired solicitor whose conservative ARF mandate was quietly eroding her fund at a 7% real rate of depletion annually.

Covered in this episode:

• The US Health and Retirement Study findings on actual retiree withdrawals
• Bill Bengen's 4% rule and its Irish limitations
• Sequence of return risk and how a cash buffer changes the equation
• Three common ARF drawdown mistakes and three concrete takeaways.

The imputed distribution sets the floor. It doesn't set the strategy.

Read the full blog post at www.informeddecisions.ie/post/safe-withdrawal-strategy-arf-ireland

DISCLAIMER: This content is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute personalised financial advice. Always speak to a qualified, independent advisor about your own situation.

You've built a €2 million pension. Now here's the question nobody asked you: how much of it will you actually keep?

In this episode, Paddy runs the real numbers on what a €2 million ARF looks like in Ireland in 2026: mandatory drawdowns, income tax, USC, PRSI, and the phased strategy that could save you tens of thousands every year in the early stages of retirement.

What this Episode covers:

• Why a €2M ARF triggers a mandatory €120,000 income. Whether you need it or not
• The real net income after tax: €72,614 at a 39.5% effective rate
• How phasing your drawdown across two crystallisation events drops your annual tax bill from €47,386 to €8,088
• What happens to the deferred pot if it grows at 6% for 8 years, and how that interacts with the Standard Fund Threshold
• The couple scenario: why joint assessment changes everything
• SFT mechanics at each Benefit Crystallisation Event and where the margin gets tight

The numbers are stark. The structure matters. And getting this wrong (or not thinking about it at all) is one of the most expensive planning gaps we see.

Discover the full blog post and show notes on informeddecisions.ie

In this week's episode, Paddy tackles the question he gets asked more than any other: how much do I actually need to retire in Ireland?

Well, for an answer to that question, one should make a proper calculation beforehand, and Paddy is here to help you out by covering the key benchmarks from the Pensions Council report, what they mean in practice, and where they fall short.

Some of the specific points covered in this episode:

• Why the state pension — currently €299.30 per week in 2026 — changes the calculation significantly, and what it means for couples where both partners qualify
• The simple framework for working out your own number: current spending, minus what disappears, plus what increases, minus state pension, divided by 0.04
• Why many couples targeting a comfortable retirement need a private pension pot closer to €300,000–€400,000 than the €1 million figure people often assume
• The healthcare wildcard — private health insurance costs that the benchmarks don't fully capture
• Why the question changes completely for those with €1 million or more in pension assets: it's no longer "do I have enough?" but "how do I structure what I have?"
• The imputed distribution rules every ARF holder needs to understand before drawing down

If you're in your 50s or 60s and haven't yet put a real number on what retirement will cost you, this episode is a practical and reassuring place to start. Enjoy listening!

In this week's podcast, Paddy talks about what a €1 million pension can actually generate in retirement—and why the headline number doesn't always match the reality of income.

• The tax-free lump sum explained You can take 25%, but only the first €200,000 is fully tax-free. The rest may be taxed, reducing what you actually receive.
• ARF income isn't as high as you think A €750,000 ARF might generate around €30,000 per year—but after tax, that's closer to €25,000 net.
• The State Pension makes a big difference Adding the State Pension can bring total income to roughly €45,000+, improving monthly income significantly.
• Annuities offer certainty—but at a cost They provide guaranteed income for life, but you give up control, flexibility, and access to your capital.
• You can take more—but it comes at a price Higher withdrawals from an ARF are possible, but they increase your tax bill and may reduce long-term sustainability.
• A mix of ARF and annuity may work best Combining both can give you a balance of guaranteed income and flexibility.
• Couples have a clear advantage With two State Pensions and wider tax bands, married couples can generate significantly higher net income.
• What matters isn't the €1 million It's the income it produces—and whether that income supports the life you want.

What's realistic, what's sustainable, and what €1 million actually means in retirement. Enjoy listening!

In this week's podcast, Paddy talks about why leaving your cash in a current or low-interest account is quietly costing you.

• Your savings could earn more Demand deposit accounts now offer around 2% and fixed-term options near 3%, so idle cash loses ground to inflation.
• Use the right tools The CCPC comparison tool helps Irish savers easily compare domestic and international deposit accounts.
• Rates vary widely Foreign platforms often offer better rates than Irish banks, but terms matter—don't just chase the headline numbers.
• Tax makes a difference DIRT takes 33% of your interest, so tax-free options like State Savings and some government bonds can be surprisingly competitive.
• Read the fine print Platforms like Raisin show strong rates, but the advertised "3%" often comes with conditions. Actual easy-access rates are closer to 2%.

What's realistic, what's competitive, and how to make your cash work harder for you.

Hope it helps.

Most people with significant pension assets have no real idea what their financial advisor earns from their money. Not because the information is illegal to share — it isn't — but because the system is designed in a way that makes it genuinely difficult to see.

In this episode, Paddy looks at how commission structures work in Irish financial advice, why the difference between a percentage and a euro figure matters enormously, and what a truly transparent client-advisor relationship should actually look like.

Key points covered:

• How initial and trail commissions work on Irish ARFs, pensions and investment products — and what those percentages look like when converted into real euro figures
• Why the structure of commission-based advice creates a conflict of interest that isn't malicious, but is very real
• The difference between a suitability standard and a fiduciary duty — and why that distinction could be worth a significant amount of money to you
• A real client story: a couple who were being advised to keep working and keep contributing, when in fact they already had enough to retire comfortably
• What good transparency would actually look like — and the three questions every investor should be asking their advisor right now

I hope it helps.

In this week's episode, I welcome Aaron to the podcast before diving into a timely topic for Irish savers and investors: how inflation quietly erodes cash savings over time.

I look at why holding too much cash can damage long term purchasing power, why fear often keeps people on the sidelines, and why a diversified, low cost investment approach has historically offered a stronger path for long term wealth.

Key points: • Inflation reduces the real value of cash, even when your account balance stays the same • Too much money on deposit can weaken long term wealth and legacy outcomes • A diversified global portfolio has historically rewarded patient investors despite short term volatility

I hope it helps.

Michael Houghton returns to the Informed Decisions Podcast seven years after his first appearance to share how his thinking on money, work and property has evolved. Michael is a personal finance writer, former software developer, FIRE advocate, Irish Independent columnist, and now an active property investor building income and wealth through rental property in Ireland. In this conversation, Michael explains why financial independence is really about choice, not simply giving up work. He shares how he and his family went from extreme saving and FIRE to a more flexible life built around purposeful work, property income, and long term planning. Key talking points • Michael's journey from New Zealand visitor to living in Ireland for 15 years • How he and his family pursued FIRE by saving aggressively and working towards financial independence • Why hitting your number does not always mean you want to stop working • How he thinks about retirement, purpose, and the value of meaningful work • Why he sees property as a strong long term wealth building tool • The role of rental yield, leverage, refinancing, and bank appetite in building a portfolio • The risks of property investing, including concentration, leverage, insurance, and tenant issues • How property fits alongside pensions and other investments in an overall financial plan I hope it helps.