This week we bring you our first-ever Guest-Post, all about Entrepreneur Relief versus Pension Contributions. I will keep the author a surprise until the end of the piece (don't fast forward!), and it might indeed be a fairly big surprise when you do discover who wrote it!

• Entrepreneur Relief Principles
• Pension Contribution Watch-Outs
• Comparison of the two approaches
• A practical comparison of doing €1m on both

All I (Paddy) will say, is that I sure hope you don't like this style better than my own :).

This week I share 12 clear signs it's time to retire from your full-time job. Perhaps it is to start some new professional journey, a new personal journey, or a combination of both.

I share this piece in the hope that it will give you hope! Give you hope if you are on the cusp of retirement and doubting if you can or you can't. Give you hope if you are wondering if you are alone, mad, or simply wrong to retire. 

Key Takeaways

• Your pension fund is healthy and can provide you with a comfortable retirement income
• Your children are financially independent
• 'Work' is incapable of giving you a sense of purpose
• You want to spend more time with family and other interests
• Your health is starting to suffer

I hope it helps.

If you have ever heard of Custom House Capital, Dolphin Trust, or Solar 21, you will know that Unregulated Investments in Ireland are commonplace and contentious.

I'm certainly not an expert on these types of products, but I know enough to realise that I wouldn't touch unregulated investments with my own money, never-mind someone who trusts me to mind theirs! So this week, I'll share with you:

• What are Unregulated Investments
• It's all about the money!
• Do they go wrong?
• How to spot if something is regulated or unregulated
• Why you might consider some alternatives

This piece is being shared based on a suggestion from a long-term podcast listener, so thanks for the prompt!

This week Paddy chats with Jason Parker. Jason is the author of Sound Retirement Planning, the host of the Sound Retirement Radio podcast, a frequent guest on ABC, NBC and Fox, and the inventor of the Retirement Budget Calculator.

Key talking points:

• Key things to know if you'll be ok in retirement
• Retirement Budget Calculator
• Retirement cashflow
• What questions should you be asking about your money when you retire
• Temporary safety vs. long-term strategy
• Reinforcing your discipline and understanding
• Bucket Strategy

I hope you enjoy the conversation.

Resources:

RBC - Calculator (retirementbudgetcalculator.com)

New research shows the bucket strategy is better than previously thought. - RBC (retirementbudgetcalculator.com)

Retirement Calculator: How much money do I need to retire?: Parker, Jason R., Rounds, Hannah: 9798841614555: Amazon.com: Books

Sound Retirement Planning: A retirement planning journey designed to achieve clarity, confidence & freedom.: Parker, Jason R.: 9781727749861: Amazon.com: Books

Books:

Ryan Holiday – Discipline Is Destiny

Ryan Holiday – The Obstacle Is the Way

James Allen – As a Man Thinketh

Randy Alcorn – The Treasure Principle

Other:

Brian Buffini Podcast It's a Good Life on Apple Podcasts

Choosing a Financial Advisor in Ireland is not an easy task! There are many different types of advisors, operating in different ways, being remunerated differently, and all delivering different services. 

In this piece, I will share with you;

• How to recognise the different types of financial advisors in Ireland
• Why Financial Advisors are comparable to prostitutes, escorts and spouses!
• How different types of advisors are paid for what they do
• Why all Financial Advisors are not the same

I hope it helps.

In this episode, Paddy has a great chat with Paul Merriman from The Merriman Financial Education Foundation in the USA.

The foundation is dedicated to providing financial education to those of all ages.

Paul shares his wealth of knowledge from decades of experience from starting his own Merriman Wealth Management after retiring to setting up his foundation. 

Key topics covered:

• Investing successfully
• Equity asset classes
• Emotions of Investing
• Hardest thing about investing
• Maths of investing
• Follow the history

I hope you enjoy this insightful interview.

Resources:

Merriman Financial Education Foundation Lifetime Investment Calculator - Paul Merriman

About Paul

Here are some helpful resources from The Merriman Financial Education Foundation:

Selecting of the appropriate amount of fixed income (Fine Tuning Your Asset Allocation)

Choosing the best fixed distribution asset allocation

Choosing the best flexible distribution asset allocation

Quilt charts

Investing for Children

The Merriman Financial Education Foundation

Free E-book from Paul - get it here We’re Talking Millions! 12 Ways to Supercharge Your Retirement or here Free E-book

Paul Merriman Podcast

Your Money and Your Brain: How the New Science of Neuroeconomics Can Help Make You Rich by Jason Zweig - Paul's book recommendation

This week I bring you some facts, no metaphors, no story, just facts about recent and important pension changes in Ireland!

• Important changes to PRSAs
• Upcoming changes to UK State Pension benefits (applicable to all those in Ireland with some time accrued in HMRC UK State Pension)
• Recent changes to Lump Sums from foreign pensions (including Malta etc.)

I estimate that there are approximately 100 people retiring today, and tomorrow etc. etc. Of these c100 people retiring each day of the week, some are really well prepared and will have a smooth journey.

However, others will be less prepared and so face a little more challenge and hurdles. My hope is that this piece will help a few to blow any hurdles out of their way with ease!

2022 was a testing investment year for many. Rather than jump headlong into 2023, let's take a few minutes to reflect and observe what we can learn from 2022! To me, there are 3 main investment lessons to be taken from last year:

1. Inflation continues to be the real risk
2. Diversification matters
3. Embrace uncertainty