What is an AVC?
An Additional Voluntary Contribution is an extra personal pension contribution made alongside benefits you are already building through work. An AVC may be paid to an arrangement linked to the workplace scheme or, where appropriate, to a PRSA used for AVC purposes. The correct route depends on the scheme, access rules and the options available to you.
Who might consider an AVC?
- An employee who wants to add to workplace pension savings.
- A public servant reviewing a possible gap between scheme benefits and retirement plans.
- Someone who has not used all of their personal tax-relief capacity.
- A person approaching retirement who wants to coordinate several pension arrangements.
An AVC is not automatically suitable. Existing benefits, cash reserves, debt, retirement timing, investment risk and access to the money all matter.
AVC tax relief limits in Ireland
Your ordinary employee contributions and AVCs count together toward the personal age-related limit. Relevant earnings are capped at €115,000 a year for this calculation.
| Age | Maximum personal contribution for Income Tax relief |
|---|---|
| Under 30 | 15% of relevant earnings |
| 30–39 | 20% |
| 40–49 | 25% |
| 50–54 | 30% |
| 55–59 | 35% |
| 60 or over | 40% |
Relief is against Income Tax at the marginal rate you actually pay. Employee pension contributions do not receive USC or PRSI relief. Multiple personal pension contributions are aggregated when assessing the limit.
Workplace AVC or PRSA AVC?
| Question | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Which route can you access? | Your employer or scheme may provide an AVC facility; a PRSA AVC may be available in qualifying circumstances. |
| How is relief applied? | Payroll may grant relief under net pay, while a separate contribution may require a claim. |
| What are the total charges? | Ask for policy, fund, contribution, transaction and advisor charges in writing for the exact arrangement. |
| What investments are available? | Risk, time to retirement and how the AVC fits with the main scheme should be considered together. |
| How can benefits be taken? | The main scheme and AVC benefits may need to be coordinated at retirement. |
Worked example
A 45-year-old earning €60,000 has a 25% age-related limit, equal to €15,000. If ordinary employee pension contributions for the year are €6,000, the remaining illustrated capacity is €9,000. The amount that actually qualifies also depends on tax paid, the relevant source of earnings and the timing and form of the contribution.
Documents to gather
- Your latest workplace pension or public-service benefit statement.
- A payslip showing ordinary employee pension contributions.
- Statements for existing AVCs, PRSAs and personal pensions.
- The contribution and charge quotation you are considering.
- Your intended retirement date and a realistic contribution budget.
How an advisor can help
An advisor can calculate the available personal capacity, compare the routes available through their service, explain charges and investment risk, and coordinate the AVC with your main scheme and other pensions. A personal recommendation should follow a full fact-find and suitability assessment.
Use the pension tax relief calculator →
Reviewed 22 September 2026. Rules and suitability depend on your circumstances.
Prepare an AVC review
Use your scheme statement, payslip and contribution history to get a more useful discussion.
Start my pension check ↗Let’s make your pension clearer.
We’ll use the information you provide to match you with an advisor from our panel of financial advisors, who will contact you to discuss your needs.