The most recent increase in the State Pension (Contributory) that came into effect in March of this year, means that those in receipt of the maximum rate of this payment (€248.30 per week) will have an annual guaranteed income which is in excess of the Revenue’s definition of specified guaranteed income (€12,700).

As a result, future retiree’s that have reached State Pension Age (currently age 66) and are in receipt of the maximum rate of State Pension (Contributory), will no longer be required to purchase an Approved Minimum Retirement Fund (AMRF). Should those individuals choose the “ARF” option, then all residual funds they have after taking their pension lump sum can be used to buy an Approved Retirement Fund (ARF).

For more information on the impacts of this increase please read our full TechTalk below.

Ethics Webinar 2022
 
 

Zurich’s 2022 Ethics webinar is scheduled for 11am on the 29th November. 
 
 
 
Action needed to avoid additional costs on Group Pension Schemes
 
 

Now is the time to talk to your clients about making a formal commitment to wind-up their existing company pension scheme in 2023.
 
 
 
Latest investment podcast
 
 

In this investment podcast recorded on November 8th 2022, we speak about recent market movements and Zurich Investments current positioning and outlook. This month we also take a look at the Prisma 4 fund, which forms part of the Zurich Prisma multi-asset fund range. All the information contained in this podcast was accurate at the time of recording.
 
 
 
Master Trust Executive Pension - Now Available
 
 

You can find all our Master Trust Executive Pension literature at the link below. And until the end of the year, for every new Executive Pension that you submit, we will reward you with an additional €100 bonus payment. See "Why Choose Zurich" for full terms and conditions. 
 
 
 
Zurich Master Trust - Launch Webinar playback
 
 

Thank you to all the Financial Brokers who joined us for the launch webinar of the Zurich Master Trust – Executive Pension earlier this month. We were delighted to see such a large turnout online. For anyone who missed the webinar it is available on playback below. 
 
 
 
Protection Promotions Extended until 31 December
 
 

We are delighted to announce that we are extending most of our protection offers until the 31 December 2022. Click on the link below for a reminder on all our Protection Discounts.
 
 
 
Improvements to the Zurich Life online Protection Portal
 
 

We are excited to announce an upgrade to our online journey, which has the following benefits for users and there will be more to come!
  • More data transfer from quote to application: More client details being brought through to the main application from the quote stage including smoker status and occupation on Income Protection applications.

  • Quicker data input: We now have very handy new ‘pick lists’ once a disclosure is made – this means there will be less need to do searches for many of the main medical / family history disclosures. You simply pick from the ‘top disclosures’ list provided on answering a question ‘Yes’. However, you can still search for any condition not listed in the ‘pick-list’ but we are confident that we have included the vast majority of our top disclosed conditions in these new pick lists.

  • Easier to view the dynamic questions and answers: Dynamic display on same-page of interactive questions for disclosures made.
  • Fresh new look and feel: This is just the start of a new range of features we will be introducing. Over the coming months you will notice several enhancements to the online journey and also some new tools and guides within the Broker Centre itself which will help you inform and serve your clients. Watch this space!
 
 
 
Our Banking Partner is changing
 
 

At Zurich our banking partner is changing. Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) payments should be issued to our new bank account. This change is to ensure quicker allocation of payments to the correct policy.
 
 
 
Zurich scoops two awards at the Digital Media Awards
 
 

Zurich won ‘Best in Financial Services’ and ‘Best Search’ at the 2022 Digital Media Awards.