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The advice opportunity you can’t afford to miss
I recently had the pleasure of hosting a tax webinar with David Clancy and David Wade, and it really brought home just how significant intergenerational wealth transfer has become. Listening to them unpack the scale and complexity of what’s ahead, three things stood out to me:
Those insights frame what follows. because the scale of wealth moving between generations in Ireland is both unprecedented and full of opportunity.
The scale of the opportunity
Ireland is set for its largest ever intergenerational wealth transfer. Household wealth totals €1.3 trillion, nearly half held by the top 10%1. High property values, pensions, and business assets mean more families are facing complex decisions about when and how to pass wealth.
For brokers, this is an important opportunity for advice.
Families are looking for clarity, confident planning, and trusted experts who can help protect assets while minimising tax and avoiding forced sales.
This is where you come in.
The Challenge: High Wealth, Low Liquidity
Many high value estates look impressive on paper but are surprisingly illiquid. A family may own a €1 million property or valuable farmland but have limited cash on hand when a gift or inheritance triggers Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) at 33% once thresholds are exceeded.
And with thresholds remaining low, €400,000 for children, €40,000 for other relatives, and €20,000 for non relatives, even modest gifts can result in significant tax liabilities.
Clients are thinking long term. They’re ready to act. They just need the right solutions, explained simply and clearly.
The Solutions: Three Powerful Tools Every Broker Should Be Using
1. Section 73 Savings Plans: Building a Tax Free ‘Gift Tax Pot’
A Section 73 approved savings policy allows parents or grandparents to build a fund over at least eight years that can be used to pay gift tax without creating a second taxable gift.
It solves three client headaches:
Broker opportunity:
Use Section 73 to plan future gift events, such as transferring an investment property or farmland, while creating a clear, predictable plan to cover the tax liability.
It’s very difficult to predict the best moment to invest.
2. The Small Gift Exemption: A Simple, Underused Strategy
Up to €3,000 per person per year can be gifted tax free, with no impact on CAT thresholds. Multiple donors can gift to the same beneficiary, enabling families to move meaningful value every year.
When invested through:
…these gifts can grow over time while remaining fully compliant with Revenue rules.
Broker opportunity:
Encourage multi donor gifting, especially in families with grandparents, step parents or extended relatives who want to give smaller amounts that make a big cumulative impact.
3. Bare Trusts with Investment Bonds: Efficient Lump Sum Gifting
For larger gifts to minors, such as €20,000, €30,000 or €40,000, Aviva’s Children’s Investment Trust (a Bare Trust paired with an Investment Bond) lets donors use the child’s lifetime CAT threshold and ensures all investment growth belongs to the child without creating additional taxable gifts.
Broker opportunity:
Position this as a long term, tax efficient alternative to holding cash in children’s bank accounts.
Where This Becomes Vital: Family Businesses & Farms
For business owners and farming families, wealth transfer is often even more complex. Assets are valuable but tied up in land, shares or machinery. Agricultural Relief and Business Relief help, but not always fully. Even with 90% relief, non agricultural or non business assets can still leave families facing CAT exposure. This is where forward planning matters.
Mapping out future transfers and pre funding the tax over time, often for modest monthly premiums, can protect family assets for generations.
Why Brokers Are Uniquely Positioned to Lead
High net worth families trust advisers who bring:
You’re not only helping clients pass on wealth.
You’re helping them pass on stability, opportunity and peace of mind.
Your Action Plan
Your Action Plan
Here’s how you can turn this moment into long term value for your clients and your business:
| Broker Only | Approved for Brokers to use with clients | Application form | More Information | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Section 73 | Broker Guide | Video Customer Guide | Savings Plan | Broker Hub |
| Small Gift Exemption: Minor beneficiaries (Children’s Savings Investment Trust) | Broker Guide | Video Customer Guide | Children’s Savings Investment Trust | Broker Hub |
| Adult beneficiaries (Savings Plan) | Broker Guide | Customer Guide | Savings Plan | Broker Hub |
| Lump sum gifting – Children’s Investment Trust | Broker Guide | Customer Guide | Children’s Investment Trust | Broker Hub |
TBC
| Warning: If you invest in this product you may lose some or all of the money you invest. Warning: Past performance is not a reliable guide to future performance. Warning: The value of your investment may go down as well as up. Warning: These funds may be affected by changes in currency exchange rates. |
| Remember that tax laws can change over time, so it is important to check revenue.ie for the latest information. The information provided is accurate at the time this article was created in April 2026. Your clients should seek professional tax and legal advice to satisfy themselves of their own tax position. The information given is a guideline only. Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland DAC accepts no responsibility for monitoring CAT thresholds or for any CAT liabilities that may arise. |
Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland Designated Activity Company, is a private company limited by shares, registered in Ireland No. 165970. Registered office at Building 12, Cherrywood Business Park, Loughlinstown, Co. Dublin, D18 W2P5. Tel (01) 898 7950, www.aviva.ie
Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland Designated Activity Company, trading as Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland and Friends First, is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
