Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Finance if a person (details supplied) in County Kerry will be permitted to transfer their approved minimum retirement fund pension to an approved retirement fund before the age of seventy five. [16927/13]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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An Approved Minimum Retirement Fund (AMRF) is converted to an Approved Retirement Fund (ARF) either on attaining age 75, on satisfying the specified lifetime income requirement or on death. Since enactment of the Finance Act 2013 on 27 March 2013, that specified income requirement has reverted back to €12,700 from a previous figure of 1.5 times the maximum annual rate of State Pension (Contributory) at the time the ARF option is exercised. Therefore if the individual concerned has guaranteed income for life of €12,700 per annum he should advise his fund manager who will convert his AMRF to an ARF.

If he does not satisfy the specified income requirement, then, if his AMRF was established since 6 February 2011 and contains assets of more than €63,500, his fund manager will transfer the amount in excess of €63,500 to an ARF and this amount will be available for drawdown by him and subject to tax and other statutory deductions.

The Explanatory Memorandum that accompanied the latest Finance Bill stated that the reversion of the specified income requirement from 1.5 times the prevailing rate of State Pension Contributory to €12,700 was to be for a period of 3 years, whereupon the higher limit implemented in 2011 will be reapplied by Finance Act 2016.