It is the most common decision in Irish retirement, and the one most often made on autopilot. Tax-free does not mean free of consequence — and it is not reversible. You retire with an €800,000 pension. Revenue tells you €200,000 can come out entirely tax free. Most people take it without much deliberation, because the alternative appears to be leaving free money behind. Sometimes that is right. Often it is not. And the part almost nobody is told is that the decision cannot be