The changes affecting pensions and investments announced in today’s budget are as follows:
- No change to private pension rules
- €5 per week increase in the State pension from 1st March 2017
- The DIRT rate applying to bank deposit interest will be reduced from 41% to 39% in 2017 and thereafter an annual reduction of 2% p.a. will apply to bring the rate to 33% by 2020.
Unfortunately, there was no reference in the Budget Speech to any reduction in the exit tax rate applied to life assurance policies and collective investment funds. The exit tax is currently aligned to the DIRT rate at 41%. The exit tax applies to any gains on life assurance policies and collective investment trusts but there is no offset against other taxes in the event of a loss.