Company director starting a pension — PRSA vs Master Trust, and where to get low charges?

Retirement

Proprietary director of a one-person Ltd company (wife is company secretary). Want to start a pension funded by the company. Flexibility matters. I want to vary contributions and do lump sums depending on how the business does, not commit to a fixed monthly amount.

I've been talking to a Zurich tied agent. He's quoted the standard terms: ~1% AMC (1.1% PRSA / 1.0% Master Trust + €3/month policy fee), 100% allocation. Funds seem fine, but I gather that's full price and the same product can be had cheaper elsewhere.

Questions:

  1. PRSA vs Master Trust (executive) pension for a director — since the Jan 2025 change capping employer PRSA contributions at 100% of salary, which are people going with? My salary is modest and I'd like to put in more than that from profits, which makes me lean Master Trust — am I reading that right?

  2. Are those charges normal, or should I be pushing for lower? What AMC should I realistically be aiming for? It feels excessive especially as the pot grows.

I'm 40 without a pension and very keen to get this sorted. Thanks for any and all help. This has been a great group for helping me be more financially literate.

Posted Jul 8, 2026, 9:29 AM UTC

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