Friends First, Goodbody Stockbrokers and Standard Life have joined the legion of companies offering Approved Retirement Funds (ARFs) and Approved Minimum Retirement Funds (AMRFs).

The last two Finance Acts liberalised pensions for the self-employed and company directors with a more than 5 per cent shareholding.

Although still available, annuities are no longer mandatory for personal pension holders and certain individuals may invest part of their lump sum in ARFs or AMRFs instead.