Retirement planning is essential to ensure a comfortable life after retirement. As a public-sector employee, you will be a member of the superannuation pension scheme. The pension benefits you receive are calculated based on the years of service that you have and the salary that you earn. However, this is not always a simple calculation.

Within the public sector, there are several different issues which may affect what your pension will be. The main variation that will determine your pension is the year that you joined service. Those who joined pre-1995 are on a different scheme to those who joined after. One of the services we provide at IPS Financial Advice is securing the State Contributory pension for those who joined pre-1995 and otherwise would not have qualified for it. This has increased our clients’ annual pension benefits by up to €10,000 per annum.

We help our clients maximise their pension benefits in other ways too. It is important to ask questions around your additional voluntary contributions (AVC). Do I have enough or even too much in my AVC? How is my AVC performing in comparison to other AVCs? What are the charges on my AVC? At IPS, we will answer these questions and ensure that you are getting the best available products to maximise you benefits.

As a public-sector employee, you have the benefit of great job security. It is important though to ensure that you and your family are protected against ill-health, incapacitation or death. Within the public-sector, if you are sick or unable to work, you will receive three months half pay and three months full pay. After this period is over, you would be dependent upon social welfare benefits. At IPS Financial Advice, we provide access to the best salary protection policies on the market. These policies cover you for 75% of your income until such time as you are able to return to work.

As a member of the superannuation scheme, you may have noticed a deduction on your payslip for Spouses and Children’s scheme. Find out exactly what this covers you for. It is important to ensure that you have adequate cover for you and your family at the best rates available. At IPS Financial Advice, we can ensure that we supply that for you.

How IPS Financial Advice can help you:

1. We offer to meet you in a one-to-one setting and incorporate a review of all your finances. IPS Financial Advice is a nationwide company, so we will have a financial advisor near you that can meet at a time and place that will suit.
2. Our initial meeting usually lasts an hour and will involve our advisor finding out your needs and objectives.
3. Your IPS consultant will then develop a personalised plan to meet these objectives. The more information that you supply, the better the plan will be!
4. A meeting will be arranged each year for you and your advisor to ensure that you are on track to meet your goals and to incorporate any new objectives that may arise as time passes.