Pension Portal Update

Great news – we’ve made some changes to your Irish Life Pension Portal to improve your online experience so we can continue to better guide you throughout your retirement journey.

 

To help answer any questions you may have regarding these changes, we’ve answered some of the most frequently asked questions from our customers below:

How do I navigate the new menu?

 

The new left-hand side menu allows for greater navigation so you can clearly view each section of your portal account to learn more about your pension.

It is a constant feature throughout your portal account

I have multiple linked pension plans, where is the menu for each of my plans?

 When you log into Portal the menu on the left-hand side is for the plan we refer to as your primary plan. Some of the pages available are specific to your primary plan and other pages are what we refer to as client level pages. Projections is an example of a client level page, this simply means that all of your linked plans are taken into account in the information presented on this page. 

Other pages such as Documents are what we refer to as plan level. This simply means that the information presented on this page is in respect of your primary plan only.  Therefore if you have two linked plans you will have two separate Documents pages in your online account.

To access Documents and other plan level pages for your other plan(s) you must select the other plan(s) in the Plans section of the main menu. Simply select the plan name and the menu will then change to display the list of available pages for the selected plan.

I have multiple linked pension plans, how do I request a fund switch?

 A fund switch can be requested on the Investments page. The Investments page exists for each of your linked plans separately. This means that you must select the plan you wish to request the fund switch on from the menu (as outlined below) and then go to the Investments page to request your fund switch.

To access Investments and other plan level pages you must select the plan in the Plans section of the main menu. Simply select the plan name and the menu will then change to display the list of available pages for the selected plan. 

Where is my profile information?

 When you log in, you’ll see your Dashboard and you can update your profile. Click on your name in the top right hand corner of the screen to review your profile.

Here you can see personal details such as your marital status, address, eircode, email address and mobile number.

You can easily edit your details by clicking on the edit icon and updating your information.

Remember to hit Save after you are happy with your changes.

How can I see my fund value and my retirement projections?

 The dashboard is your new home-screen giving you an overview of your pension pot to date. You can see your current fund value (how much you’ve got in your pension pot so far). And you can also see the ‘My retirement income projections’ panel with the three blue boxes

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These show:

  1. Your projected fund value – this is how much we think your pension pot will be worth when you retire.
  2. Your projected yearly income – this is how much we think your yearly pension income will be when you retire.
    The third blue box is the recommended yearly income. This is the income we think you will need in retirement. This is calculated based on 33% of your current income plus the State Pension.
  • The final box in orange shows your retirement income gap, if applicable.
  1. You can click on the ‘State Pension’ toggle button to see what your pension pot figures look like with and without this applied. The default mode in your pension portal is set to include the State Pension in your projections. The State Pension will only be paid to you when you reach State Pension Age which may be different than the retirement age in your plan. 
What can I learn from the 'Plans" section?

 The ‘Plans’ section is where you can find information about your plan and allows you to jump between different Irish Life plans should you have more than one.

The ‘Plan summary’ provides you with a summary of your pension

What is 'My next step' and 'Status Update'?

 The green ‘My next step’ panel is a helpful new feature of your pension portal. This area is where we guide you through your pension journey. Take a look at the panel and see what it says. These are your suggested tasks so that you can take control of your retirement planning.

How can I calculate tax savings?

 Your ‘Tax savings calculator’ allows you to calculate how much you could save on tax by saving for your future.

  • You can access the ‘Tax savings calculator’ by clicking on the purple navigation menu. This calculator helps you figure out how much you could save on tax when you save into your pension pot.
  • The slider allows you to see how much a change to your monthly contribution will actually cost you, after your tax savings have been applied.

 

Where can I see my projected pension pot?

 Click on ‘Projections’ to see a breakdown of your projected yearly income by contributions such as your Defined Contribution or ‘DC pension’, the State Pension, AVCs and so on.

  • You can see if there’s a retirement income gap. This is calculated on the basis of providing a pension income of 33% of your salary plus the State Pension. You should note that the State Pension is only payable at State Pension Age which may be different to your plan retirement age.
  • The second half of the tool allows you to update your retirement projections by changing any of the four factors– the contributions you make, your salary, retirement age or to include or exclude State Pension.
  • Move the slider, toggle the buttons and enter different amounts here to understand the impact of those changes on your projected pension pot. 
What can I do in the 'Contributions' section?

 If this feature is available for your plan you can access the ‘Contributions’ tool by clicking from the green ‘My next step’ panel on the dashboard. Or you can simply click on ‘Contributions’ on the purple navigation menu, if applicable.

  • Here you can make changes to your current contribution amount by moving the sliders.
  • Look at the sliders and see if you can increase your contribution.
  • Hit the ‘submit changes’ button to confirm and you’ll see a ‘Summary of changes’. 
What can I do in the 'Investments' section?

 In the ‘Investments’ section, you can see your ‘Fund details’ which displays the fund you are invested in and allows you to review your fund performance over time. 

Where has the 'Switch Funds' section moved to?

 Switch Funds’ can now be found in the ‘Investments’ section of the purple menu. This is where you can instruct Irish Life to make a fund switch, should you wish to.

How can I view my transactions?

 To view transactions on your plan, simply select 'Transactions' from the main menu.

Where is the 'Expression of wishes' section?

 Expression of Wishes has been renamed and can be found under the ‘Beneficiaries’ section of the purple menu. Please note that the Trustees of the plan are not bound to follow this.

Where can I find my Benefit Statement?

 The ‘Documents’ section of portal holds important documents relating to your pension such as your benefit statement, new entrant document and any other documents related to your plan. You can download a copy or access them here at any time. 

Not yet registered for online access?

  • Your online portal account allows for 24/7 access to all of your plan information online: you can view transactions, update contact details and download documents. It also houses a fantastic range of investment information specific to your plan in the investment centre section.
  • If you haven’t signed up already, you can sign up now – watch this 30 sec video to help you get set up.
  • Log onto your online portal  now for 24/7 access.