Savings after 60: the exemption is the rate
The best savings move available to many Irish savers over 65 is not an account at all. It is a one-page form that stops DIRT being taken, worth a third of your interest every year, and most people entitled to it have never heard of it.
The 65+ exemption, in full
From age 65, if your total income is under €18,000 a year, or €36,000 combined for a married couple or civil partners, you owe no DIRT. The claim is Form DE1, handed to your bank rather than Revenue, one per account, and interest arrives gross from then on. A saver on the State Pension with €40,000 on deposit at 2% keeps the full €800 instead of €536: the exemption outperforms almost any rate chase available on this site.
Income above the limit means ordinary 33% DIRT, and the comparison moves to the main table like anyone else's money. For the years you did qualify but paid anyway, refunds run four years back through Revenue.
What suits the money itself
- Keep more instant access than a younger saver would. The emergency fund logic strengthens with age. The best instant rate is currently 3.04% and the table keeps it honest.
- State Savings earn their reputation here. DIRT-free at any income, unlimited State guarantee, capital always returned in full on early exit, and up to 2.01% AER on the current issues. For savers over the exemption income limit they are often the best after-tax home.
- Mind who withholds. The high rates at EU banks come with self-assessed tax. If a Revenue return is not already part of your year, an account that withholds at source, or State Savings with no tax at all, buys real simplicity for a small rate cost.
Questions Irish savers actually ask
- What is the best savings account for over 60s in Ireland?
- The same table applies at any age, but two things change the answer after 60: from 65, modest incomes stop owing DIRT at all, which makes ordinary bank rates worth a third more; and State Savings suit retirement money for the unlimited State guarantee and the post office counter.
- At what age do you stop paying DIRT in Ireland?
- There is no automatic age. From 65, you are exempt if total income is under €18,000 a year (€36,000 for a married couple or civil partners). You claim it by giving Form DE1 to your bank, one per account, and interest is then paid gross.
- Can DIRT already paid be claimed back?
- Yes, for up to four years, from Revenue, if you qualified in those years. The forward-looking exemption via Form DE1 stops it being deducted in the first place, which is less paperwork than reclaiming.
- Are State Savings good for retirement money?
- They fit it well: no DIRT regardless of income, an unlimited State guarantee, early access with your capital always returned in full, and everything can be done at a post office. The trade is a lower headline rate than the best bank fixes, which the tax treatment partly or fully repays.