Planning to 95: Life Expectancy, the Irish ARF and the Real Retirement Lever

Your Irish pension plan probably runs to age 95, but you'll likely live to around 83, and the gap changes your pot far less than you'd expect.

In this episode, Paddy digs into the retirement life expactancy in Ireland. He checks on the one age assumption buried in almost every Irish retirement plan, where the default of 95 comes from and what the most recent CSO life tables actually say about how long a 65-year-old really lives.

It's for you if you're approaching or already in retirement with a meaningful pension or ARF, and you've never been asked (or never questioned) the age your own plan is built to.

Using a fictional €1.2m ARF, this piece shows how Revenue's imputed distribution means the closing pot is almost identical whether you plan to 83 or 95 (around €1.25m versus €1.21m). The end age was never really the lever.

What is covered in this Episode:

• Where the default planning age of 95 comes from and the US research (Barron's, TIAA, Stanford) behind "oversaving and underliving"
• What the most recent Irish CSO life tables really say and why they're a floor, not a forecast
• How Revenue's imputed distribution (4%, 5%, 6%) shapes drawdown from an ARF
• Why a €1.2m ARF lands at almost the same value at 83 or 95 and what that means for your estate
• The real lever: what you do with the income you're forced to draw, including a scenario that leaves roughly €283,000 less to Revenue

📖 Blog: www.informeddecisions.ie/post/how-long-should-retirement-plan-last-ireland 

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DISCLAIMER This content is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute personalised financial advice. Everyone's situation is different. Always speak to a qualified, independent advisor before making pension or investment decisions. Tax rules and pension regulations change; figures quoted are accurate at time of recording.