Most of us are guilty of putting pension savings on the long finger. But, with the State's current shortfall for future pensions and social welfare in Ireland already in the billions, one thing is clear - we need to make our own plans.

For State pensions to pay for themselves, we need enough people below pension age working, paying taxes and contributing to the pot that supports our pensioners. That's where we run into problems. The Irish population is ageing rapidly and the number of people working to support the elderly is getting smaller.

It's why the tax man rewards us for taking matters into our own hands. PRSAs are available to anyone up to age 75 and it doesn't matter whether you're in work or not.

• A personal pension that works like a savings/investment account
• A defined contribution scheme, that allows regular or one-off contributions for amounts from as little as €10
• It's tax-deductible, subject to normal revenue limitations
• You own it, so it's not tied to any job or employer
• You can stop, start or change the amount you contribute to suit you
• It's a contract approved by the Pensions Authority and Revenue Commissioners

• Our PRSAs are provided by Zurich Life Assurance plc (Zurich Life).

Don't worry, it's not as painful as it sounds. We just want to make sure you're happy with the information you have on the PRSAs we offer provided by Zurich Life because RaboDirect don't offer financial advice, but we provide information to help you decide what's best for you. If you need to do additional research, then you can get general information on PRSAs at www.pensionsauthority.ie or you can talk to an independant financial adviser.

All PRSA-related information on the following web pages has been provided by Zurich Life for information purposes for RaboDirect customers only. RaboDirect only provides PRSA products from Zurich Life and not any other provider.