An Approved Retirement Fund keeps your pension pot invested after retirement instead of buying an annuity, but from age 61 Revenue requires a minimum 'imputed distribution' every year whether you draw it down or not — 4% under 71, 5% from 71, or 6% once your combined ARF and vested PRSA assets exceed €2,000,000 (below 61, none of this applies at all, regardless of fund size). This calculator works out that minimum and the real tax on an actual withdrawal, stacked on top of your other income.
Imputed distribution doesn't apply at all below age 61, no matter how large the fund. From 61, the rate is set by your age (4% under 71, 5% from 71) — or, if higher, by whether your combined ARF/vested PRSA assets exceed €2,000,000, which forces 6% regardless of the under-71/over-71 split. Your actual withdrawal is taxed as ordinary income — Income Tax and USC apply as if it were the top slice of your income for the year, stacked on top of any other income you enter. PRSI is exempt from age 66 (State Pension age); below that, an ARF drawdown is unearned income and this calculator estimates it at the standard employee PRSI rate as an approximation, since the exact Class K treatment depends on your other PRSI record.
Revenue treats you as if you had received it and taxes you on it regardless — the imputed distribution is a deemed minimum withdrawal for tax purposes, not just a suggestion. If your actual withdrawal is below the minimum, you're still taxed on the minimum.
No — this calculator covers only the ongoing annual drawdown from an ARF that's already been set up. The retirement lump sum (up to 25% of the fund, with its own tax-free and reduced-rate bands) is a separate, one-off transaction this calculator doesn't model.
Below 66, ARF withdrawals fall under PRSI Class K, and whether it applies — and at what effective rate — depends on your specific PRSI record and other income. This calculator estimates it at the standard employee rate as a reasonable approximation; check with Revenue or a pension advisor for your exact position.
Yes — this calculator's multi-year projection automatically switches your minimum from 4% to 5% the year you turn 71, even if you started drawing down under the 4% rate.
No. Imputed distribution as a whole doesn't apply at all until the year you turn 61, no matter how large the fund — a €5m ARF held by someone under 61 still has a 0% imputed distribution. The 6% rate only overrides the age-based 4%/5% split once you're already 61 or over.
No — the new rate applies for the whole tax year in which you turn the milestone age, not just from your birthday onward. If you turn 61 on 31 December, that entire year is already subject to the 4% minimum, not zero; the same full-year rule applies at 71 for the step-up to 5%. Enter the age you turn (or will turn) during the year you're calculating for, not necessarily your age today.
Figures are estimates for informational purposes only, based on the assumptions you enter, and are not tax advice. Consult a tax advisor or Revenue.ie before making financial decisions.