The National Solidarity Bond, which was announced by the Minister in his Budget Speech 2010, will be available to purchase in all Post Offices from 4 May. The NTMA announced that the Bond will provide investors with a return of 1% gross per annum for 10 years, which will be subject to DIRT at 25%, along with a 40% tax free bonus in year 10. This equates to an effective tax rate of 5% at maturity, giving a net return on investment of 47.5%.
The National Solidarity Bond will be directly invested with the Irish Government for 10 years under the management of the NTMA. The minimum investment is €500 and the maximum is €250,000 per individual investor.
According to published information, investors can take their money back at any time without penalty. However, the longer the money is invested the greater the return. Those who invest for 5 or 7 years can earn 15% or 29% gross respectively at the end of those years.
Further details are available from the website www.StateSavings.ie.