Your options depend on if you are an employee or are self-employed.
If you are an employee, the first thing to do is find out if you have a pension scheme through your job.
If not, you will need to consider making provision for your retirement and you should think about other options such as a personal pension or a Personal Retirement Savings Account (PRSA).
If you have already got a good pension arrangement through work, you may not need to make any additional provisions or you may be able to top-up your benefits by making Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs).
There are two types of pension schemes.
If you have a Defined Benefit Pension Scheme – a pension related to your salary, for example a pension of two thirds of final salary at retirement – you may not need to make any further pension provisions or you may already have a facility to make AVCs.
Transferring out of a Defined Benefit scheme into any other pension arrangement involves a risk and should only be done after very careful assessment of your financial position and the advantages and disadvantages for you. Bear in mind, you will be foregoing a defined salary related pension in retirement for an uncertain income.
If you have a Defined Contribution scheme, you are already carrying the investment risk – your pension will depend on the contributions you make plus the investment performance of your fund less the charges involved. But your employer will be making a contribution to the scheme.
If you switch to another pension product, will the employer continue to contribute?
If you are self-employed your choice is to set up either a Personal Pension or a PRSA.
Either way, you should take professional advice based on your personal circumstances from a Financial Broker.