Putting Your contract Income to Work: Saving for Your Child’s Education

For contractors thinking long-term, the message is clear: the earlier you start saving, the less you will need to put away each month, and the more your money can grow through investment returns over time.

Strategy 1 - Start a Regular Savings Plan, Even a Small One

The single most powerful thing any parent can do is simply begin. A regular savings plan does not require a large lump sum, it requires consistency. Even €100 per month, invested from birth to age 18, builds to €21,600 in contributions alone, before any investment growth is factored in. For contractors, the beauty of a new contract is that it often brings an uplift in net income. Rather than allowing that surplus to drift into everyday spending, committing a portion to a standing monthly savings plan locks in a habit that compounds over time.

These monthly contributions are invested into a fund, with the level of risk tailored to your timeline and comfort. The longer your runway before your child reaches college age, the more growth potential you can access. A financial advisor at Icon will help you select the right risk profile for your circumstances.

Strategy 2 - Invest Your Child Benefit: The €140 Per Month Habit

Ireland's Child Benefit payment currently stands at €140 per month per child. Many families spend it on day-to-day costs without realising what it could become if invested consistently from birth.

If your contract income means you are comfortable covering household costs without relying on Child Benefit, consider this: redirecting that €140 per month automatically into a savings plan from the day your child is born is one of the simplest and highest-impact financial decisions you can make. You will barely notice it is gone.

Zurich's research illustrates just how meaningful that monthly €140 can be when placed into an investment fund rather than a standard deposit account. Here is what the Zurich Prisma 5 fund projection looks like when you apply that discipline:

Illustration Basis: All figures are gross values before Exit Tax and for marketing illustration purposes only. Based on Zurich Prisma 5 annualised past performance used as a guideline (9.6% p.a. over 5 years and 10.7% p.a. over 10 years, to 30/04/2026), net of AMC (1.5%). 101% allocation rate applied. The government insurance levy of 1% is covered by Icon Wealth Management on your behalf. Important: Exit Tax (currently 38% on gains) will apply on encashment or at deemed disposal. Past performance does not guarantee future performance and is not a reliable guide to the future performance of this investment. The value of your investment may go down as well as up.

Strategy 3 - Use Contract Surplus as a Lump Sum Investment

New contracts often generate an initial cash surplus, whether from signing a higher rate, completing a milestone payment, or simply having fewer expenses in a new engagement. Rather than leaving this money sitting in a current account earning nothing, a lump sum investment can be a smart move.

A minimum of €5,000 invested into an investment bond gives you immediate market exposure, with the option to add regular contributions on top. Crucially, a longer investment horizon allows you to take on more growth-oriented funds, and the Zurich Prisma 5 fund sits at the higher end of that range.

Zurich Prisma 5

HIGHER GROWTH POTENTIAL. UNIT-LINKED FUND

The Zurich Prisma 5 fund sits at the growth end of the Prisma range, built for investors with time on their side who want their money working as hard as possible over the long term. It is designed to grow your savings meaningfully, with the understanding that values will move up and down along the way.

For a contractor with a young child, say under 10 years of age, Prisma 5 is well worth considering as part of an education savings strategy. With a decade or more before the money is needed, there is plenty of time to benefit from the fund's long-term growth potential, with short-term movements smoothing out over the years.

As your child gets closer to secondary school, we would simply sit down together, review how your fund is performing, and move into something a little more steady if that makes sense, protecting what you have built without you having to think about it. That is what having an advisor at Icon Wealth Management is for.

Illustration Basis: All figures are estimates for marketing illustration purposes only, using Zurich Prisma 5 annualised past performance as a guideline (9.6% p.a. over 5 years and 10.7% p.a. over 10 years, to 30/04/2026). Past performance does not guarantee future performance and is not a reliable guide to the future performance of this investment. The value of your investment may go down as well as up.

Worth Knowing - Tax Considerations for Contractor Investors

Gains within investment funds in Ireland are subject to Exit Tax, currently 38%, applied on encashment, partial withdrawal, or at each 8th policy anniversary (the deemed disposal rule). This applies to unit-linked savings and investment products such as those in the Zurich Prisma range.

While Exit Tax is not unique to contractors, it is worth factoring into your overall financial plan. The key advantage of a long-term education savings approach is that you are building a fund you intend to use, so deemed disposal events can be planned for and managed rather than arriving as a surprise.

Icon Wealth Management will walk you through the full tax treatment as part of any savings plan we set up for you.

The bottom line - The Best Time to Start Was Yesterday. The Second Best Time Is Now.

Zurich's 2025 research found that over one in three parents who are saving for college started when their child was born, and yet fewer than one in three of those parents feel confident their savings will be enough. That gap tells its own story.

For contractors, a new contract represents exactly the kind of income inflection point that creates real planning opportunity. The question is not whether you can afford to save for your child's education, it is whether you can afford not to, given how costs are moving.

Whether it is €140 per month redirected from Child Benefit, a €5,000 to €10,000 lump sum from a contract milestone, or a combination of both, the key is to start, structure it properly, and review it regularly with a financial advisor who understands the contractor landscape.

That is exactly what we do at Icon Wealth Management.

Ready to start planning? Speak with one of our advisors about building an education savings strategy that works around your contract income and family goals.

Important Information

This article is produced by Icon Wealth Management for general information and illustration purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice or a personal recommendation. The Zurich Prisma 5 annualised performance figures (to 30/04/2026) have been used solely as a guideline for illustrative purposes and do not represent a projection or guarantee of future returns. The suitability of any product depends on your individual financial circumstances. Please speak with a qualified Icon financial advisor before making any investment decision. Icon Wealth Management is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

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 figures are estimates only. They are not a reliable guide to the future performance of this investment.  |  Warning: If you invest in this product you may lose some or all of the money you invest.

Data Sources:

·  Zurich Cost of Education Survey 2025 | Zurich Ireland https://www.zurich.ie/savings-and-investments/education-costs/

·  Strategies to Save for Your Child's College Education | Zurich Ireland https://www.zurich.ie/blog/strategies-to-save-for-your-childs-college-education/

·  Zurich Prisma 5 Fund Factsheet | Zurich Ireland https://www.zurichlife.ie/static/documents/DOC_8698/Prisma_5_Factsheet.PDF?docTag=&_gl=1*2uf1hq*_gcl_au*MTA5NDQ1NTk1Ny4xNzc3Mzg5Mzg2*_ga*OTgxOTA2MzU0LjE3NzczODkzODQ.*_ga_7B4GRT6M7F*czE3Nzk5NzU2NzkkbzExJGcxJHQxNzc5OTc1OTU5JGo2MCRsMCRoMA..