Statement of Fees, Charges & Commission
A general remuneration disclosure for clients, covering the product providers we arrange business with.
Effective date: September 2026 | Version 1.0
GUIDE ME FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS LIMITED
Statement of Fees, Charges & Commission
A general remuneration disclosure for clients, covering the product providers we arrange business with
| Prepared for | Clients and prospective clients of Guide Me Financial Solutions Limited ("GMFS", "we", "us") |
| Company number | 814651 (CRO) |
| Registered office | Unit 8, 1st Floor, The GRID, Charlesland, Greystones, Co. Wicklow, A63 T9K1 |
| Regulatory status | Guide Me Financial Solutions Limited is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland as an insurance intermediary (Life Assurance and General Insurance) |
| Contact | 083 132 9704 | trevor@guidemefinancial.ie | guidemefinancial.ie |
| Effective from | September 2026 |
| Next scheduled review | September 2027, or sooner if a provider changes its commission or charging structures |
Contents
1. Introduction & Purpose
2. How We Are Remunerated
3. Key Terms Explained
4. Fees, Charges & Commission by Product Type
4.1 Personal & Executive Pension Plans — Regular Contributions
4.2 Personal & Executive Pension Plans — Single Contributions & Transfers
4.3 PRSA — Regular Contributions
4.4 PRSA — Single Contributions & Transfers
4.5 Approved Retirement Fund (ARF)
4.6 Open Market Option / Annuity Purchase
4.7 Investment Bonds
4.8 Savings Plans (Regular Premium)
4.9 Life & Protection Cover
4.10 Private Health Insurance
5. Important Notes & Limitations
6. Our Product Providers
7. Questions & Complaints
1. Introduction & Purpose
This document explains, in general terms, how Guide Me Financial Solutions Limited ("GMFS", "we", "us" or "our") is remunerated when we arrange life assurance, pensions, investment, protection and health insurance products on your behalf, and the charges that product providers typically apply to those products.
We are a financial broker. We do not manufacture the products we recommend — they are provided by insurance and investment companies ("product providers"), and it is those providers, not you, who pay us commission for introducing and arranging business with them. This document sets out the ranges of commission and charges currently available to us across the product providers we deal with, so that you can understand the general basis on which we are paid before you engage us.
Because commission and charges vary by product, by provider, and by the specific option selected for your policy, the figures below are presented as ranges rather than a single number. Before you enter into any contract, we will give you a personalised Statement of Suitability (or equivalent product disclosure) that sets out the exact initial commission, ongoing commission, and charges that will apply to your specific policy. That personalised disclosure always takes precedence over the general ranges in this document.
2. How We Are Remunerated
GMFS is remunerated by product providers by way of commission. Commission is generally paid in one, or a combination, of the following ways:
Initial (or "upfront") commission — a one-off payment, usually calculated as a percentage of the amount you invest or contribute (or, for protection policies, as a percentage of your annual premium).
Trail (or "renewal") commission — an ongoing annual payment for as long as your policy remains in force, usually a small percentage of your fund value, or of each premium, each year.
"Bullet" commission — on some pension products, commission is instead paid as a small number of larger lump sums at specific policy years (for example, years 1, 3, 5 and 7), rather than spread annually.
We do not currently charge clients a separate advice fee in addition to the commission we receive from product providers. If that were ever to change for a particular piece of work, we would agree this with you clearly, in writing, in advance.
3. Key Terms Explained
The tables in Section 4 use the following terms:
Annual Management Charge (AMC): a charge deducted by the product provider from your fund each year to cover fund and policy management costs. This is a cost to you, not a payment to us — though the AMC available on a given option can vary with the commission structure chosen.
Allocation rate: the percentage of each contribution or investment that is actually invested in your chosen fund(s) after any charges are deducted at the outset. Where the allocation rate is above 100%, the provider is adding a bonus to your investment; where it is below 100%, a charge has been deducted.
Clawback: a requirement for us to repay some or all of the commission we received if your policy is cancelled, lapses, or is significantly reduced within a set period after that commission was paid.
Exit / early encashment charge: a charge that may apply if you cash in, transfer, or significantly reduce your policy within a set number of years of taking it out. This charge is retained by the product provider, not by us.
Policy / plan fee: a fixed monthly or annual administration fee charged directly by some pension providers, separate from the AMC.
4. Fees, Charges & Commission by Product Type
All figures below are ranges seen across the full menu of commission and charging options currently available to us across Zurich Life, Irish Life and Aviva (and, for health insurance, Irish Life Health) for each product type. The specific option used for your policy — and therefore the exact figures that apply to you — is always confirmed in writing before you commit to a contract.
4.1 Personal & Executive Pension Plans — Regular Contributions
| Initial / upfront commission | 0% – 22.5% of the yearly contribution amount |
| Ongoing / renewal commission | 0% – 5% of each contribution, and/or up to 1% of the fund value each year |
| Annual Management Charge (AMC) | 0.75% – 1.50% of the fund value each year |
| Policy / plan fee | Up to €5.13 per month on some employer pension plans, plus a Pensions Authority levy of up to €12 per year |
| Early exit / transfer charge | Up to 5% of the fund value, normally reducing to nil within 4–5 years (not charged on all options) |
Note: Some providers offer a "bullet" commission structure for regular-contribution pensions, where commission is paid as a small number of lump sums (e.g. in years 1, 3, 5 and 7) rather than spread annually; cumulative bullet payments can total significantly more than a single year's contribution over the life of the arrangement, but are subject to clawback if the policy lapses early.
4.2 Personal & Executive Pension Plans — Single Contributions & Transfers (including Personal Retirement Bonds / Buy Out Bonds)
| Initial commission | 0% – 5% of the amount invested or transferred |
| Ongoing / trail commission | 0% – 0.9% of the fund value each year |
| Allocation rate | 93% – 105% of the amount invested |
| Annual Management Charge (AMC) | 0.50% – 1.50% of the fund value each year |
| Early exit / transfer charge | Up to 5% of the fund value, normally reducing to nil within 4–5 years (some options carry none) |
4.3 PRSA (Personal Retirement Savings Account) — Regular Contributions
| Initial commission | 0% – 20% of each contribution |
| Ongoing / trail commission | 0% – 0.5% of the fund value each year |
| Allocation rate | 93% – 100% of each contribution |
| Annual Management Charge (AMC) | 0.60% – 1.25% of the fund value each year (as low as a flat 1% on the standard, no-commission PRSA option) |
| Early exit charge | None — by law, a PRSA can always be transferred or ceased without a provider exit penalty |
4.4 PRSA — Single Contributions & Transfers
| Initial commission | 0% – 5% of the amount invested or transferred |
| Ongoing / trail commission | 0% – 0.75% of the fund value each year |
| Allocation rate | 95% – 100% of the amount invested |
| Annual Management Charge (AMC) | 0.60% – 1.50% of the fund value each year |
| Early exit charge | None |
4.5 Approved Retirement Fund (ARF)
| Initial commission | 0% – 5% of the amount invested or transferred |
| Ongoing / trail commission | 0% – 1.00% of the fund value each year |
| Allocation rate | 93% – 104.5% of the amount invested |
| Annual Management Charge (AMC) | 0.30% – 1.50% of the fund value each year |
| Early exit / transfer charge | Up to 5% of the fund value, normally reducing to nil within 4–5 years. Never charged on regular retirement income withdrawals or on death |
4.6 Open Market Option / Annuity Purchase
| Initial commission | Up to 3% of the purchase price, paid once at the time of purchase |
| Ongoing commission | None |
| Exit charge | Not applicable — an annuity purchase is a one-off, irrevocable transaction |
4.7 Investment Bonds
| Initial commission | 0% – 5% of the amount invested |
| Ongoing / trail commission | 0% – 0.75% of the fund value each year |
| Allocation rate | 97% – 105% of the amount invested |
| Annual Management Charge (AMC) | 0.40% – 1.60% of the fund value each year |
| Early encashment charge | Either: up to 5% of the fund value reducing to nil within 4–5 years; or, on some options, no encashment charge but our commission is instead subject to clawback if you encash early. Never both together |
| State taxes (not a GMFS or provider charge) | A 1% Government levy on the amount invested, and 41% exit tax on any investment gain, apply by law to investment bonds |
4.8 Savings Plans (Regular Premium)
| Initial commission | Fixed at 10% or 15% of each regular contribution (not a sliding scale), plus 3% on any lump-sum top-up |
| Ongoing / trail commission | 0% – 0.5% of the fund value each year |
| Allocation rate | 100% – 101% of each contribution |
| Annual Management Charge (AMC) | 0.90% – 1.85% of the fund value each year |
| Early exit charge | None — commission is instead subject to clawback (up to 4 years) if you stop contributing early |
4.9 Life & Protection Cover (Term Life, Mortgage Protection, Family Income Benefit, Income Protection and related covers)
| Initial commission | 22% – 200% of your first year's premium, depending on the commission structure selected for your policy |
| Ongoing / renewal commission | 3% – 30% of each subsequent year's premium |
| Clawback period if the policy lapses or is cancelled early | 0 – 48 months (up to 4 years). As a general rule, the higher the initial commission structure chosen, the longer the clawback period that applies |
| Fund value / allocation rate / AMC | Not applicable — protection premiums are not invested, so there is no fund, allocation rate or AMC |
Note: Protection commission is calculated on your premium, not on an investment amount, which is why the percentages here are structured differently from — and can appear much higher than — the pension, PRSA, ARF and investment figures above. These are the maximum figures across the full menu of options; the specific structure applying to your policy will always be confirmed to you in writing.
4.10 Private Health Insurance
| Provider | Irish Life Health DAC — health insurance is currently arranged with this provider only |
| Commission when your policy starts | 6% of your annual premium, excluding the part of the premium that covers the Government health insurance levy |
| Commission at each renewal | 6% of your annual premium (on the same basis) each year your policy is renewed through us. If you renew directly with Irish Life Health, we are not paid |
| Company / group schemes | 6% of the total annual premium for the scheme up to €200,000, and 2% of any amount above €200,000 |
| Cancellation or change mid-year | If your policy is cancelled or reduced during the policy year, we repay Irish Life Health a proportionate share of the commission for the unused part of the year |
| Fee to you | None. Our commission is paid by Irish Life Health from the premium and is not added on top of it. We do not charge a separate fee for arranging health insurance |
| Fund value / allocation rate / AMC / exit charge | Not applicable — health insurance premiums are not invested, and there is no exit charge |
Note: At the date of this document, Irish Life Health is the only health insurer we hold an agency with. This means that when we advise you on health insurance, we can only recommend and arrange Irish Life Health plans — we cannot compare them for you against plans from other health insurers. Unlike our pensions and protection business, health insurance commission is a single fixed rate rather than a range, and it is the same whichever Irish Life Health plan you choose.
5. Important Notes & Limitations
The ranges in this document reflect the full menu of commission and charging options available to us across our current product providers as a whole. They are not, and should not be read as, the commission or charges that will apply to any individual policy.
Fund management charges can also vary by the specific investment fund(s) you choose within a policy, in addition to the AMC ranges shown here — your fund guide or Key Information Document will confirm the exact charge for any fund you select.
Commission and charging structures are set by product providers and can change from time to time. We review and update this document at least annually, and sooner if a provider makes a material change.
Nothing in this document is a quotation, illustration, or offer. Your personalised Statement of Suitability, product illustration and Terms of Business will always set out the exact commission and charges applicable to your specific policy, and will be provided to you before you enter into any contract.
6. Our Product Providers
At the date of this document, we hold agencies with, and can arrange business through, the following product providers:
Zurich Life Assurance plc, regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland
Irish Life Assurance plc, regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland
Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland DAC, regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland
Irish Life Health DAC (health insurance), regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland
For life assurance, pensions, investment and protection products, we are not tied to any one provider and select the product and provider we believe is most suitable for your needs and objectives. For health insurance, we currently hold an agency with Irish Life Health only, so our health insurance advice is limited to Irish Life Health plans.
7. Questions & Complaints
If you have any questions about how we are remunerated, or would like the exact commission and charges applicable to a product before you proceed, please contact us at 083 132 9704 or trevor@guidemefinancial.ie.
If you are ever unhappy with any aspect of our service, you are entitled to make a complaint. Details of our complaints process are set out in our Terms of Business. If you remain dissatisfied after we have addressed your complaint, you may refer the matter to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO), Lincoln House, Lincoln Place, Dublin 2, D02 VH29 — www.fspo.ie.
Document control: Version 1.0 — September 2026.