Is One Million € Enough to Retire? - Real Income from Savings
Informed Decisions Independent Financial Planning & Money Podcast
Release Date: 04/13/2026
Bonds Aren’t Broken. What the 1970s Tell Irish Retirees About Bonds Today
Informed Decisions Independent Financial Planning & Money Podcast
A lot of investors have written off bonds after 2022. In this episode, Paddy Delaney explains why that conclusion is based on a misreading of how bonds work — and what the historical data actually shows. The 10-year US Treasury yield went from under 6% to over 11% during the 1970s. Bonds still returned 5.4% per year. The worst single year was a loss of less than 1%. If bonds survived that rate environment, what does it mean for the environment we are in today? In this episode: - How bond returns are calculated (starting yield and duration) - Why rising interest rates improve your future bond...
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Pension When You Change Jobs in Ireland: The 4 Most Important Decisions for Professionals
Informed Decisions Independent Financial Planning & Money Podcast
“There's a pension somewhere in your name that you haven't looked at in five years.” That's a sentence Paddy finds himself saying in client meetings more often than you'd expect. Across a 25-year career, the typical Irish professional works for three or four different employers — and the result, by the time someone reaches their mid-fifties, is often €100,000 to €500,000 spread across multiple dormant pensions that haven't been reviewed in years. In this episode, Paddy walks through what he calls the forgotten pension problem: the structural feature of Irish pension administration...
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PRSA vs Company Pension in Ireland: Which Is Right for You?
Informed Decisions Independent Financial Planning & Money Podcast
After the 22 April IORP II deadline, thousands of Irish directors are now in a pension structure they didn't deliberately choose. Most transitioned from an executive pension to a Master Trust or a PRSA under time pressure. Few sat down to ask whether the resulting structure is actually the one that serves them best. In this episode, Paddy walks through the PRSA versus Executive Pension / Master Trust decision in detail: Funding mechanics, lump sum comparison, death benefit treatment, and the second decision most people never review: the investment mandate inside the structure. The episode is...
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Risk and Reward in Retirement: What Ben Carlson’s Research Means for Irish Investors - Interview
Informed Decisions Independent Financial Planning & Money 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...
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The Most Consistently Underclaimed Tax Break for Irish High Earners - Pension Tax Relief Explained
Informed Decisions Independent Financial Planning & Money Podcast
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...
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Is your ARF built to last? - Safe Withdrawal Strategies
Informed Decisions Independent Financial Planning & Money Podcast
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...
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€2M ARF in Ireland: What You'll Actually Keep — And How to Keep More
Informed Decisions Independent Financial Planning & Money Podcast
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...
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How Much Money Do You Need to Retire in Ireland?
Informed Decisions Independent Financial Planning & Money Podcast
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...
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Is One Million € Enough to Retire? - Real Income from Savings
Informed Decisions Independent Financial Planning & Money Podcast
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...
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Best Deposit Rates in Ireland What to Know in 2026
Informed Decisions Independent Financial Planning & Money Podcast
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...
info_outlineIn 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!