John Ellis

Your Money & You

John Ellis A pension is not only a vehicle for tax relief

It’s that time of year again when people are considering how much they can a ord to put in their pension. For so many people the only benchmark is how much needs to be invested to get the maximum relief for the tax year.

Unfortunately for many the view is if there is no tax relief it’s not really an option, forgetting that not only is tax relief available on contributions but that the fund in the pension grows tax free ie. no income tax, PRSI, USC or capital gains tax.

Of course, you will have to pay tax on the proceeds of your pension when you retire but 25% is tax free up to €200,000 and the remaining funds invested will be taxed as it is drawn down. But it can be less that you might think.

Pension provision is more than a tax planning vehicle. For many people it is the means to a change of pace rather than the ending of the working life with most wanting to continue working even if nancially secure in retirement. is indicates that nancial security is important but it’s not the only ingredient for a happy retirement. We value our mind just as much as our money and we want to feel connected which is a realisation that has formed for many after the pandemic

To give retirement planning new meaning, we need to really understand what it means for retirees of today and future generations. And so, Standard Life regularly conducted research to “identify and better understand all aspects of the retirement process, from people’s attitudes, expectations and behaviours to our present retirees’ lived experience”. e research was conducted through the Retirement Pulse; a nationally representative and independently administered online survey. ey interacted with up to 1,150 people across Ireland including all age ranges, social backgrounds, and levels of nancial security.

According to the research many people are looking forward to retirement and there’s plenty of evidence to illustrate how holistic planning ahead of time has a profoundly positive impact. People who own and engage with their pension are more likely to feel con dent, optimistic, and empowered in retirement.

But with many young people, Millennials, their mindset isn’t focussed on pensions due mainly to struggling with the housing market and evidence shows that they are less likely than others to own a pension. More than three fths do not have a pension and, of those that do, a quarter con rmed they don’t take an active interest in it, nor do they take advantage of the tax relief available on contributions. ey need to listen to their elders, as with the bene t of hindsight many retirees regret not giving more thought to their pensions throughout their working life.

Unfortunately, due to current crisis and the continual talk of poor State pension prospects many are feeling anxious, with 42% of 18–24-year-olds saying that thinking about retirement makes them feel anxious or scared leading to feelings of apathy in those in their late 20s and early 30s. ese emotions resurface from the age of 45 and while “the scales tip towards a more empowered disposition, with more Gen Xs and Baby Boomers rejecting the suggestion that retirement is scary, there’s still a signi cant number that are fearful as the prospect of retirement looms closer”. e report shows that, despite female pension ownership growing, they still track behind men overall (45% versus 55%). When analysed by pension type (public, occupational and personal) women are far more likely to own a public pension and less likely than the national average to own an occupational pension. ey are far less likely to take an active interest in their pension (27% disagree to taking an interest versus 16% of men). erefore, they’re far more likely than men to say they don’t know how their pension is performing (30% versus 11% of men).

To overcome these and other problems outlined in the report Alan McCarthy Head of Distribution in Standard Life says: “ e lens through which we’ve traditionally viewed retirement needs to change because the way in which people experience retirement continues to change. e study elevates this understanding by identifying the spectrum of attitudes and exploring the range of factors that in uence how we feel about and plan for retirement.” So, the idea that pension provision is only a vehicle for tax purposes needs to change.

‘How we view retirement needs to change ...

john@ellis nancial 086 8362622

Sporting days and the Majorettes…

BY JOHN FITZGERALD

e band’s debut appearance at Croke Park coincided with a match there involving the Kilkenny Camogie team. e girls, who scooped an All-Ireland victory, received a great morale booster from the presence of the band in Dublin. When the team returned to Kilkenny, the Camogie players formed a guard of honour with raised hurleys for the band on the Parade. e James Stephen’s GAA Club formed a special bond with the band at an early stage. After the parish team won its rst championship in 1924, the band led the triumphant lads back from St. James’s Park to e Village. And the club aided the band too, especially by helping to build a new Band hall in the late 1940s. is was only one example of how the goodwill and community spirit of e Village kept the band alive against the odds. It had survived RIC baton charges, and so too it withstood the icy winds of economic recession and increasing costs of keeping its show on the road.

In the late thirties, the demolition of the old band hall on the Kells road left St. Patrick’s without a HQ…until Johanna Larkin came to the rescue. Hailed as “Mother of the Band” owing to her years of dedicated service and advice, she allowed her house to be used both to store the instruments and for practise sessions.

In late 1970, money was scarce and the band faced a seeming crisis as many of its vital musical instruments were beyond repair. A cloud of gloom and doom hovered over St. Patrick’s Parish. Was this the end of its beloved brass band?

No chance! A meeting was called of all band members and supporters, past and present, and an action group was formed to save the band. e small, dedicated committee initiated a worldwide appeal. e plea went out to people of Kilkenny extraction everywhere. And the call did not go unheeded.

Donations came pouring in from every part of the world where a proud Kilkenny heart ticked in forced or voluntary exile. Soon, the hard-pressed members had sparkling new silver instruments. e band was back on the road, marching with a new con dence and the professionalism that had distinguished its long and often turbulent history e Majorettes

In late 1970, with its nancial crisis out of the way, the band soared to new heights of fame and popularity with the formation of the Corps of Majorettes. e band chose twenty- ve glamorous girls from hundreds of potential female recruits. e vetting process was ruthless but fair. Only the most committed applicants could be considered.

Kilkenny Military Barracks was the scene for much of the tough training course the women had to undergo before “passing out” as Majorettes.

Day and night they practiced and rehearsed. On bleak winter days, they drilled endlessly on the parade ground. On dark evenings, military commands directed at the turbo-charged young women pierced the winter air above the barracks. “Do they ever get a rest at all?” an admiring soldier asked his mates as he eyed the twenty ve trainees through a frosted window in his quarters.

A high-ranking army o cer who witnessed them being put through their paces in the middle of a snowfall remarked that even regular defence force training was “a synch” compared to what these elite ladies had to endure to reach the impeccable standards set by the band…

Pictures show 1) e Majorettes parading through Enniscorthy in 1973; 2) the Patrician Year Band (1961), and 3) the Lord Mayor of Dublin presenting Majorette Teresa Walsh with an award.