Lay-offs and short-time working Your employer may lay you off or reduce your working hours (put you on short-time) for a number of weeks. This can happen if there is a lack of work available or changes to the financial circumstances of the business. The difference between a lay off and short-time can be confusing and you have different rights in each situation. A lay-off is when your employer tells you that they expect you to have no work for a temporary period and you will n

Budget 2027 is set to centre around workers, with a series of tax cuts and some welfare boosts expected to be outlined on the 6th of October. Speaking in a pre-Budget speech to small business owners on Monday, the Tánaiste pledged: ‘If you work hard, you should be able to get ahead, not just get by.’ This is set to be echoed throughout the budget, which will reward those who ‘get up early every morning and go to work’. ‘If you put in the overtime, you should see the reward,’

NEW LAWS PREVENTING insurance companies from using cancer survivors’ medical history against them will take effect from 15 October 2026. A ‘right to be forgotten’ in insurance policies has been called for by cancer survivors, their families and campaigners for years, who have long argued that it is unfair for insurance companies to take cancer diagnoses into account years after a person has entered remission. The legislation means insurers will be required to disregard cancer

For most people, find­ing out they’ve been appoin­ted as executor of a loved one’s will is an hon­our. The deceased prob­ably chose you because you’re respons­ible, reli­able, fair-minded and good with money and paper­work. You may indeed be the ideal can­did­ate to ensure the deceased’s money, prop­erty and prized pos­ses­sions are dis­trib­uted prop­erly to their bene­fi­ciar­ies. But too few execut­ors real­ise that set­tling the affairs for someone after their death is an

How much should I actually be saving for retirement? The honest answer is - it depends. Your ideal retirement savings target will be influenced by your lifestyle, when you want to retire, what income you'll receive from the State Pension, and whether you have other assets or sources of income. The good news is that it's never too early or too late to start planning. Start with Your Retirement Lifestyle Rather than focusing solely on a pension pot figure, think about the lifes

For many business owners, the business is more than a source of income. It may be their largest asset, pension, family legacy and a major part of their identity. Yet succession planning is still too often left until retirement is close, a buyer appears, or the next generation begins asking important questions about the future. By then, many of the facts that determine the tax outcome may already be fixed. A good succession plan is built before a transaction is on the table. I

Most people who have yet to retire think they will need close to €41,000 to fund the years when they leave work. This is the equivalent of around three-quarters of the average Irish wage. Men think they will need more to financially survive retirement, according to research commissioned by life and pensions company Royal London Ireland. They believe they will need an annual retirement income of €44,000 on average, compared with €38,000 for women. The nationwide iReach sur

Tax is always a major concern for people thinking of returning to Ireland. Our tax department are sharing some of the common questions that we are frequently asked from people who are looking to return home. Question: I have been living abroad for a number of years and am planning on returning to Ireland. I bought a property abroad and will sell the property before returning to Ireland. Will the proceeds be taxable when brought into Ireland? What about any money I have saved

Ireland tapped the bond market on Thursday, issuing €1.25bn of Government bonds that will fall due in 2036 and 2055. The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), which borrows on behalf of the State, borrowed at an initial yield – essentially the interest rate – of 3.242pc on €800m of bonds that will mature in 2036. The State will pay 3.822pc on a further €400m to be repaid in 2055. The NTMA warned this week that the cost of servicing the national debt is likely to double

Average waiting times to complete probate vary by a factor of as much as 10, from just two weeks in Limerick to 20 weeks in other parts of the country. Probate is the legal process to allow for a transfer of a person’s assets after they have died. It is a legal necessity in many cases, where the deceased had property or other assets in their name. Research by Royal London, which provides pensions and life insurance/protection products, found it can take up to 10 times lon

Ireland’s pension landscape is currently undergoing major changes in 2026. From the launch of Auto-enrolment “My Future Fund” to increases to the Standard Fund Threshold (SFT). This blog provides a complete breakdown of key pension developments in 2026 and what are still yet to come. Increase in State Pension This January 2026, the State Pension (Contributory) personal full rate increased by €10 per week, bringing it to €299.30. This change aims to help pensioners cope with t

Private trusts remain one of the most effective structures available in Ireland for protecting assets, planning succession and providing long term financial security for families. While often associated with high net worth individuals, private trusts are not solely for the wealthy. They are practical tools that can bring clarity, control and protection in a wide range of circumstances. At their core, trusts are about stewardship. They allow assets to be managed responsibly fo

The level of wealth inequality is continuing to reduce in Ireland, a new report from the Central Bank shows. The Gini coefficient, the most widely used measure of inequality, now stands at 63.3. For the eurozone as a whole, it is 72.4. The index calculates how much the distribution of wealth deviates from complete equality, which would be 0, as everyone would earn the same. The Central Bank says in its quarterly report on household wealth that the Gini coefficient for Irelan

Average weekly earnings in Ireland rose by 4.4% in the first quarter of 2026, as wage growth continued to outpace inflation across much of the economy, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office. The latest Earnings and Labour Costs data from the CSO showed average weekly earnings increased to €1,074.61 in Q1 2026, compared with €1,029.81 during the same period last year. Average hourly earnings also climbed by 4% year-on-year to €33.13, while average weekly

We have been involved in a number of estates which have involved the concept of domicile. We explore this often misunderstood concept together with the effect it can have on the administration of estates. An individual’s domicile can determine the law that applies to the administration of the estate, who may be entitled to administer the estate, and if Irish inheritance tax is payable. This can be important if the laws of other jurisdictions are particularly restrictive or dr

Almost half of adults in Ireland are unaware that their savings may be losing value in traditional deposit accounts, according to new research commissioned by Unio Wealth Management. The firm’s Savings Reality Survey found that while many households continue to prioritise saving, inflation is steadily eroding the real value of cash sitting in bank accounts, leaving many consumers at risk of falling behind financially over the long term. The findings come as Irish households h

Three groups of people will be eligible for a €2,000 grant, which will be available from next month. The payment will be made automatically to people who meet the necessary qualifications at the beginning of next month. The payment is scheduled for the first Thursday in June each year, which falls on June 4 this time. It is issued automatically to those receiving Carer’s Allowance, Carer’s Benefit, and Domiciliary Care Allowance. Even if you’re not receiving one of these paym

Eight in 10 (79%) people say they do not feel prepared for retirement, according to research by Amárach Research on behalf of the Financial Planning Standards Board Ireland (FPSB Ireland), Institute of Banking (IOB), LIA and the Retirement Planning Council of Ireland (RPCI). In a survey of 1,200 employees and 500 employers across private, public and not-for-profit organisations, three-quarters (74%) of respondents said they manage their day-to-day finances well, despite the p

When a taxpayer makes a gain from the sale or transfer of their private company, there is potential for them to pay NO CGT or to pay a REDUCED RATE of CGT on their disposal. Under Irish tax legislation, provided certain conditions are met, this can be achieved by either claiming relief from CGT under: Retirement Relief (RR) or Revised Entrepreneur Relief (RER) RR can provide full relief from CGT on the taxpayer’s disposal of chargeable business assets to a third party, wher