Insights Archives - Page 2 of 2

Three Reasons to Start Reducing Your 2018 Tax Bill Right Now!

Posted on 11 January 201924 November 2023 by CPAS

If you are self-employed, you will more than likely be relieved that the tax deadline has come and gone again. Accountants have been paid, all expenses have been gathered and many of you have made pension contributions to reduce your tax liabilities. Everyone has now hopefully closed off their 2017 tax liabilities and the self-employed have made preliminary payments for 2018. If you are an employee in a pension scheme, your chance to make a backdated Additional Voluntary Contribution (AVC) for 2017 has also passed.

The one thing you can be certain about is that the tax/pension deadline will appear again in 2019, and you will face the same challenges of paying your tax bill and looking for ways to reduce it. Making lump sum pension contributions is a great way of reducing your tax bill, but it also can be a significant drain on your cash flow. Furthermore, as an employee, you may also be leaving it to the last minute to make an AVC.

There is a better way…

Rather than face that cashflow drain trying to come up with a lump sum pension contribution, it makes far more sense to spread the pension contribution throughout the year. Starting now… right now.

Here are three good reasons why it makes a lot of sense to make regular, smaller pension contributions throughout the year rather than one big payment at year end.

Easier on cashflow
Everything is easier when we save for it. Whether you are putting a few euro aside planning for Christmas expenses, saving up for your summer holiday or indeed making a big purchase such as a new car or home improvements, saving for these always makes life easier in the end. The exact same principle applies to your pension.

Making a regular contribution amount every month (for example say €1,000 per month) is far easier than coming up with €12,000 at the end of the year, particularly as you may also have a tax bill to pay then! After a while of paying a regular amount out each month, you simply begin to notice it less and less as it becomes like another regular outlay. As a result of more money going out each month (but remember it’s going to you!), you are also much less likely to simply waste any surplus cash left over each month.

Finally, the good news too is that if you hit a blip with your cashflow, you can always take a break for a month or two from your pension contribution.

You’re paying yourself first
When you leave your pension contribution to year end, the amount tends to be driven by available funds at that point. All of your other expenses are paid at this stage and your tax bill has been looked after. Your future financial happiness that is achieved by your pension contribution is last in line – it is decided by what’s left over!

Starting today to make that regular pension contribution puts you at the top of the queue. This is known as automatic saving as it simply happens each month, rather than you having to actively do something each month. You’re the first person looked after, and not the last. Money goes into your pension fund each month, increasing your own future financial firepower.

Maximise investment potential
There are advantages to making regular or monthly pension contributions. The first is you will enhance the value of compound interest. We already know that compound Interest is beneficial, due the exponential value of interest on interest.

If we go back to the earlier example of €1,000 per month Vs €12,000 at the end of the year – consider this – for the first 6 months anyway, there may have been interest or growth on each €1,000 invested, adding greater compounding value than to the €12,000 in a lump sum.

This also works another way however. We know that when investing in the markets there are fluctuations in value up and down over the course of the year. Regular contributions may invest in both of these scenarios and consequently purchase more shares or units in the year (increasing value) than a once off lump sum.

Today is the time to act! Set up that regular pension plan and look after your most important financial challenge – your future happiness. Whether you are self-employed or an employee looking to boost your retirement funds, CPAS has a solution for you.

PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE

As in life, there are many variables and changes. Planning for retirement and protecting your financial future involves forming expectations about income and expenses over the rest of your life, based on present assumptions. As the pension administrator for pension schemes in the construction industry, we have a range of solutions to help you prepare and protect your future investments. Whether you are self-employed, running a large company with multiple staff requirements, looking for life and income protection, we can help.

For more information and to find the right solution for you, contact our team for a no obligation discussion. Our team of financial specialists will put you in touch with the right team member. No obligations, no hidden fees, no jargon – just a straight forward chat to help you secure your present and your future.

CPAS “Opportunities for Construction Companies” Breakfast Briefing Update

Posted on 11 December 20187 November 2023 by Susan O'Mara

We were delighted with the success of the ‘Opportunities for Construction Companies 2019’ breakfast briefing we hosted at the Red Cow Moran Hotel, on 21st November last. The breakfast briefing, chaired by businessman Bobby Kerr, included speakers Oliver Mangan, Chief Economist, AIB; Terry McAdam, Management Consulting Partner, RSM; Mark Lohan, Managing Director, Brooks Group; and Jeanette Mair, Economic and Policy Research Executive, CIF.

Opening the presentations, Jeanette Mair, CIF, discussed the €7.3bn in capital investment in 2019 boding well for the construction sector as well as the employment trends in the industry.

“Capital investment in 2019 will be 23.6% greater than it was in 2018,” she said, “and the amount allocated is broadly in line with the overall allocation set out in the National Development Plan (NDP) for next year.”

Jeannette also said that according to the Labour Force Survey by the CSO, nine out of every 10 jobs lost since the crisis have been recovered and one in every 15.5 jobs in Ireland is in construction.

Before providing helpful steps to improve construction prospects in 2019, Jeanette gave an insight into housebuilding and Capital Projects in Ireland as well as the drive for innovation in construction as part of her address.

“2019 is all about improving construction productivity, the construction industry has the biggest appetite for change and embracing technology”

She also reported that initial research findings by the CIF point to productivity improvements being driven by digital trends, labour shortages and efficiency gains.

Oliver Mangan, AIB, provided the economic outlook for 2019 with Brexit being the central theme.

He said that economic indicators remained upbeat and the unemployment rate was falling to 5.4% in 2018. He added there was still much uncertainty about Brexit and it is expected to lower the growth rate of the Irish economy. ESRI estimated that Irish output would be reduced over time by 2 – 2.5% on a soft Brexit and a sharp fall-off in trade with the UK would be likely on a no-deal, hard Brexit.

Terry McAdam, RSM, outlined the key challenges the construction industry may face in 2019 such as tight contract margins, managing operational contract risk as well as addressing the skills shortage and explained in his presentation how Lean may help businesses going forward.

“Lean being the form of continuous improvement,” explained Terry McAdam, “focuses outwardly on being flexible to meet customer demands and inwardly focused on waste and cost reduction in all processes.

“If you want to get involved in Lean methodologies, start with small steps.”

Terry introduced the 5S method as the early steps a company can take to reduce waste and improve productivity through maintaining an orderly workplace – Sort, Straighten, Shine, Standardise, and Sustain.

The final speaker of the morning, Mark Lohan, Brooks Group, looked at the sector as a percentage of GDP growing from 8% this year to 12% in 2023, underpinned by a number of Government-backed plans such as Rebuilding Ireland and Project Ireland 2040.

The insightful morning concluded with a panel discussion and concluded with questions and answers. The one issue that continued throughout the discussion was the importance of a skilled workforce and the sectors ability to attract the right people to deliver on future plans.

At CPAS, we see many facets of this complex issue of retaining and attracting key staff. While companies sometimes focus on salaries alone to attract employees, CPAS has helped many employers design a complete benefits package including Income Protection and Pension Savings to help retain and recruit skilled employees. Employers who invest in their people will have greater success, and CPAS has pension and benefit consultants available to meet employers and discuss a package that could give them the edge in this area.

You can talk to one of the team at CPAS by calling 01 407 1400. To view copies of each presentation please click here.

Benefit Packages Can Play a Crucial Role in Attracting and Retaining Staff

Posted on 11 September 20187 November 2023 by Susan O'Mara

In her latest article, Susan O’Mara of Milestone Advisory highlights the importance of having a benefits package in place can have in retaining key staff or attracting new staff.

Susan writes, the “2018 National Skills Bulletin”, published by SOLAS, makes for interesting reading if you are running a company; you need to know what is in store for the labour market in your sector.

If you are a parent with kids pondering their choices for the CAO – it is also worth a read. It may give you an idea what of skills will be in demand when they are ready to enter the workforce in 2023 – 2025.

It may not be news to you that there are skills and labour shortages in the construction sector and that those shortages are for both professionals such as project managers, quantity surveyors and for trades people and general operatives. Considering this, it becomes all the more important that you have a competitive reward package in place in order to retain the key staff and attract high quality new staff.

There are thousands of scholarly articles online on the topic of how to attract and retain staff. They cover the hiring process, the efficacy of the people managers, training and overall work environment.

Finally, there is salary, which is the focus of this piece. While a competitive salary is important, it is not always the most important deciding factor for employees – so much as the overall benefits package is. The overall benefits package may include membership of a pension scheme, life assurance, health insurance and income protection. It may offer all or a combination of all, depending on the employees requirements.

What is included in a benefits package?

Along with salary, this usually includes an occupational pension scheme, into which an employer makes a pension contribution for their employee and most often, so too does the employee. Schemes can be designed to provide similar contributions for all staff, or, to reward experienced staff. One scheme does not necessarily have to have the same rates for all employees.

More often than not, there will be life insurance, also known as death benefit or death in service. This pays out a lump sum to the dependants of an employee on their death while an employee of the company. Once again, there are varying levels of cover and you can arrange different levels of cover, for different categories of staff.

Another cover that employees seek is health insurance, with new types of corporate cover popping up all the time. These provide tradition health insurance with added employee assistance programmes and employee wellness programmes.

My personal favourite benefit is income protection. Should you find yourself unable to work due to illness or injury during your career, who would pay your bills? Not your medical bills, but your ordinary living expenses? Your mortgage, utility, and such like. Income protection provides real peace of mind for employees around this. Furthermore, it is about 60% cheaper for an employer to provide this benefit under an employer sponsored arrangement than for an employee to buy an individual policy directly from and insurance company.

A fit Fit-for-Purpose Package

Having a benefits package in place is a good starting point, but is it fit for purpose? Does it suit the demographic of your workforce? A single 25 year old might be less interested in life assurance than a 40 year old with a young family. Neither the 25 year old nor the 40 year old may be enthused by the pension scheme that you are offering if you are not enthusiastic about the fact that you are offering it. You may need to highlight the value in the benefits you are offering, on a regular basis, to ensure that your staff fully understand and appreciate what they have and what it means to them and their future.

For further information please contact Susan O’Mara at: susan@milestoneadvisory.ie or phone: 01-4068020

Milestone Advisory DAC t/a Milestone Advisory is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland

What is Your Financial Plan for 2019?

Posted on 30 August 20187 November 2023 by Susan O'Mara

In her latest article, Susan O’Mara of Milestone Advisory focuses on the need for us all to think about planning for the next 20 years rather than just on the year ahead when it comes to planning for our retirement.

Susan writes – at this time each year, I would usually write nine things to do better in 2019 or alternatively, what is the outlook for 2019 or words to that effect!

When it comes to retirement however, the outlook has not changed in decades. When it comes to retirement in Ireland, the outlook is bleak. People are either uncertain about how they will fund retirement or, worse, not considering retirement at all. Not enough people are saving for retirement, and for those who are, there is a question regarding adequacy of their savings. It is with this in mind that this outlook focuses on the next 20 years, rather than next year.

Irish Life carried out some research recently, which highlights the change in demographics and how it affects pensions. They found that in the last 5 years there had been a significant increase in the population of over 65’s. This figure was 100,000* compared to an increase of only 44,000 for 15-64 years olds. I have been writing on the topic of the impact of an ageing population for some time now, however, seeing these figures really brings it home. If this is the age category growing the fastest, this is where the money needs to be, and for many, it is not.

This trend is expected to continue over the next 20 years, with a 70% increase in these figures. This would mean the over 65’s will be over 1.1 million in numbers. If you have read my articles before, you may already have read about the pressures this will have on the State Pension and general taxation and these are the hot topic issues, but there are other downsides.

If you are an employer for example, you may find it increasingly difficult to retire people at 65 or even up to 68. In 10 years, employees will not be entitled to their State Pension until they are 68. If at 68, that is all they have (currently just shy of €13,000 per annum) they may not be able to afford to retire. Employment law has made it increasingly difficult to discriminate on the grounds of age, and rightly so, however, employee attrition via retirement is natural and beneficial to both the company and the workforce coming up behind them. Without this, employers may find themselves in a situation where they have an ageing workforce, with no intention of retiring and therefore are not in a position to bring in new innovative staff. If employees have meaningful pension funds, retiring becomes an easier and more obvious choice.

Most of us already understand this on a basic level, but it is only when you personalise it does it fully sink in. Looking at it this way may help it sink in. Whether it is your workforce or your own personal retirement plan – it is worth taking your head out of the sand now.

Firstly, the government have finally decided to get tough with us on this and are currently engaged in the consultation process of a nationwide mandatory pension scheme, which should come into force in 2022. This is a good start and will be beneficial to many people not already covered by their employers for pension, however, this will take a number of years to bed down and for the contributions to add up and become meaningful. In 1992, Australia introduced a mandatory scheme, which now, 25 years later, has reversed the fortune of a vast number of people. However, while coverage has increased, the contribution rate is still being gradually increased and savers there know that they must make meaningful contributions into the scheme themselves.

Over the next 20 years, we should see a new landscape when it comes to pension savings and the first step of this is engagement from both employers and employees with regard to their part to play.

If you are still not convinced that the 20-year outlook could have a huge benefit if we engage with pension savings, consider this; a 30 year old earning €40K per annum making annual 10% pension contribution can build a fund at 65 of €392,872, whereas, if that individual puts off saving until they turn 50 and are saving 10% per annum of a salary of €65,000 will only save a fund at retirement of €149,693*.

Over the next 20 years, we can change our fate as a country and as individuals when it comes to our retirement. It’s time to get started – make it your 2019 resolution.

*Irish Life & CSO & Eurostat.

**Source – CERS Online Pension calculator

For further information please contact Susan O’Mara at: susan@milestoneadvisory.ie or phone: 01-4068020

Milestone Advisory DAC t/a Milestone Advisory is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

The Construction Sector is Ahead of the Game

Posted on 21 June 20188 November 2023 by CPAS

Many of you may already be familiar with the Sectoral Employment Order (SEO) for the construction industry, this was the first SEO announced in October 2017 and written into law by the Minister of State at the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation. This SEO outlined rates of pay for specified workers in the construction industry, as well as pension, sick pay and death in service rates for those workers. This first SEO for the construction industry has now been followed by an SEO for the Mechanical Engineering Building Services Contracting Sector, which came into effect on 6th March 2018 and also outlines rates of pay for plumbers and pipefitters as well as pension, sick pay and death in service for these workers.

This is a very significant development and puts the construction industry ahead of the curve in relation to mandatory pensions. It places the construction industry in a leadership role in the pension space, as it is the first industry to be legally obliged to provide workers with a pension.

Until the introduction of the SEOs, construction industry employers were not legally obliged to provide their workers with a pension. The SEO changes all that; it is now compulsory for employers in the Construction and Mechanical Engineering Building Services Contracting Sectors to provide pension, sick pay and death in service provision for specified workers between age 18 and 65.

Mandatory Pensions are Coming for All

As already mentioned, the construction sector is leading the way, it is the first industry to be legally obliged to provide workers with a pension. The Government recently published their Roadmap for Pension Reform 2018-2023, which outlines a series of wide ranging reform proposals, one of which is a new automatic enrolment into a retirement saving scheme for employees in the private sector who are not currently saving for their retirement. Automatic enrolment is expected to be introduced from 2022. There will be three parties paying into the scheme for each worker – their employer, the employee and the State (via tax relief or other such mechanism). Workers will have the choice to opt-out, but if they did they could lose all of the contributions, and not just their own. The starting point though will be that everyone is included in a retirement savings scheme.

CPAS – the provider of choice for the construction sector

CIF Pension Administration Services DAC (CPAS) provides specialist and professional pension administration services to pension schemes that were developed solely for the construction sector.

The Construction Workers Pension Scheme (CWPS) is one of the largest private sector pension schemes in Ireland with over 25,000 members and supported by over 2,000 employers. CWPS provides pension, death in service and sick pay benefits for workers in the construction and related industries and is open to office staff as well as manual workers. CWPS is the scheme of choice for the construction industry and it satisfies the conditions of the new SEOs in relation to pensions, sick pay and death in service benefit.

CWPS exactly meets the requirements under the SEO and it has experienced significant growth in recent months as employers seek to meet their obligations and to provide the valuable benefits for their employees. For further information on complying with the new SEO legislation for pensions, you can see their website www.cwps.ie or you can contact a member of the CWPS team on 01 407 1444.

The Construction Executive Retirement Scheme (CERS) is an umbrella scheme providing pension and protection benefits to individual employers in the construction and related industries. It is particularly suited to individuals seeking higher benefits and greater flexibility than those available under CWPS. Through its flexible structure, CERS can meet the particular needs of each employer by providing bespoke and varying pension solutions for employees.

The Construction Industry Retirement Trust (CIRT) provides a flexible pension arrangement to meet the retirement planning needs of self-employed individuals and employees with no pension provision in place, who are employed within the construction and related industries.

Through our subsidiary, Milestone Advisory, we offer independent financial. Milestone Advisory offers impartial financial advice with an approach based on achieving desired outcomes rather than “product push”. Their aim is to build long-term, valued relationships with clients, helping them to achieve their financial objectives.

*Milestone Advisory DAC t/a Milestone Advisory is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

If you are unsure how best to proceed in the world of pensions, our team at CPAS will be delighted to guide you. For further information please contact us at (01) 407 1400 or by email at info@cpas.ie.

Planning for the Future

The Need for Mandatory Pensions in Ireland

Posted on 12 June 20188 November 2023 by CPAS

If you follow this regular advice column you’ll note that there is a heavy bias towards retirement planning. As a Financial Advisor for the construction sector, I meet many members of the sector’s two big schemes, CERS and the Construction Workers Pension Scheme.

My concern is that private pension coverage in Ireland is low, with only a third of private sector workers saving for retirement. This means that two thirds of the population will be solely reliant on the state to provide for their income in retirement.

Let’s dig down deeper!

We pay PRSI contributions and the state promises to pay us a pension to replace our income when we are no longer working. From March 2018, the full contributory state pension will be €12,651.60 per annum. However, currently, the state doesn’t set aside money meet this promise. They pay it from the exchequer (tax take) in the year it falls due.

What’s wrong with this?

Well, currently there are about 5 people working and paying tax for every person in receipt of the state pension – but a shift in the demographic means that by 2050 there could be only 2 people working for every retired person. This puts significant pressure on the state’s finances. Of course we’ve known this for some time and an OECD report in 2012 highlighted this and recommended the implementation of a later state pension age and the establishment of a mandatory pension scheme for all workers.

The state pension age was indeed pushed out. The qualifying age is currently 66; it will increase to 67 years in 2021 and to 68 years in 2028. It is widely discussed that a state pension age of 70 is likely to be introduced at some point also.

However, while there has been a lot of noise about a mandatory pension scheme nothing concrete has materialised so far. Many of our European neighbours are up and running with this and are seeing significant increase in their private pension coverage.

What is a mandatory pension scheme and how could it help?

A mandatory pension scheme would mean that all employers, big and small, would have to contribute a specific amount or percentage of salary for all workers. It could most likely be quasi or soft mandatory, meaning people would be automatically enrolled in a scheme but could opt out if they wished. This would have the effect of increasing private pension coverage in this country.

In 2012, the OECD reported that countries with mandatory or quasi mandatory workplace pensions has 70%+ coverage and that same year the UK rolled out its own auto enrolment scheme. Although this scheme started with only the largest employers it will be mandatory for employees in 2018. Early evidence sees only approx. 9% of people opting out. While this number may rise somewhat in 2018 – it still represents a huge increase in providing pension coverage.

The Sectoral Employment Order (SEO), recently signed into law, provides for mandatory pensions for specified construction workers. I commend the industry for this move – it ensures that an entire sector of workers are covered and the construction industry is a couple of steps ahead of the state when it comes a mandatory pension.

Any other issues?

As we know well, there is a housing crisis in Ireland. More and more of the population are in rental accommodation, paying high levels of rent and may never afford to buy homes. When this group of people reach state pension age, how will they pay rent? The state pension levels as they are, (and are likely to remain) will not cover the cost of rent. This will put further pressure on the state finances in future years.

It is a matter of some urgency that these issues are addressed so that this ticking time bomb is diffused.

Planning for the Future

Are you Covered?

Posted on 9 April 20188 November 2023 by CPAS

With effect from December 2017, self -employed people in Ireland have finally became entitled to long- term sick pay. This is great news for this cohort of people, who typically have been treated unfairly in Ireland, especially when you consider that OECD figures show close to 20% of the Irish workforce are self- employed. Tradespeople in our Industry would make up a significant portion of this.

The invalidity pension is a weekly rate of €198.50, with possible increases for an adult dependant and child dependants is a payment for people who cannot work because of a long-term illness or disability, and is not means tested.

Now for the gloom…

Did you know that during your working life, being diagnosed with a serious illness is a greater risk to you than death? The Life Assurance industry claims experience tells us that you are likelier to suffer from Cancer, a Heart Attack or a Stroke before you retire than you are to die before age 65. While we welcome the revised eligibility to the invalidity pension, it will only bring in just over €10K per annum. Can you (& your family) live on this?

While many of us have some form of Life Cover in place, through mortgage protection & other policies, most are unfortunately lacking in financial protection in the event of a serious illness. There are protection options available to you. Making ends meet should be the least of your concerns if you cannot work due to illness.

What should you do?

A new year is a good time to review your situation and put a financial plan in place. When you are self-employed, you do not have the luxury of protection policies provided by your employer and so it is up to you to make sure you are covered.

Planning helps to maximise the efficiency of your money and to do that it is important to know where you are. Many of us have some idea of our income vs our outgoings. We know our income, and our fixed expenditure such as the mortgage. However, achieving a more realistic picture requires a little more effort. You will need to look at outgoings that only happen on a quarterly or less frequent basis. All banks have online facilities that provide statements going back a year or more, and the frequency with which we use Visa means that there is much of the data readily available to look back at recent habits. Furthermore, with PSD2 now in effect from January 2018, there will be floods of fintech apps that will be able do most of this work for you.

Where you are at in your financial life cycle will help clarify what level & type of protection you need. If you have no family and no debt, you may only require income protection – to replace an income if you were unable to work due to illness or injury. On the other hand, if you have a family and mortgage, you are likely to need a combination of Life Cover, Income Protection and Serious Illness cover. Balance is key and sitting down with a financial adviser will ensure you have the best cover for you.

Planning for the Future

Milestone Advisory DAC t/a Milestone Advisory is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.