Country rules
IPS or ASK: which should a FIRE saver fill first?
Norway gives a private saver two tax-advantaged homes for retirement money, and they could not be more different in personality. The ASK is flexible and patient. The IPS is generous and strict. For 2026 the state made the IPS question livelier: the yearly cap jumped from 15,000 to 25,000 kroner. So which does a FIRE plan want first? The annoying, truthful answer is: it depends on which years of your retirement you are funding. The useful answer fits in one table and three rules.
What the IPS gives, and what it takes
Pay into an IPS and 22 percent of the contribution comes back off this year's tax. The money grows untaxed, and when it is paid out it is taxed at a flat 22 percent as ordinary income, not the 37.84 percent share rate. Symmetric in, out, plus decades of tax-free compounding in between. And one more gift that FIRE folk underrate: IPS money is exempt from formuesskatt entirely. It is the only mainstream pot the yearly wealth levy cannot see.
The price is control. Nothing comes out before age 62. And it never comes out as a lump: payout must stretch over at least 10 years and run to at least age 80. The IPS is not your money on demand; it is a private pension you are building, with a pension's rules.
What the ASK gives instead
The ASK gives no deduction on the way in and meets the full share-income rate on gains eventually. In exchange: money whenever you want, deposits out first tax-free, shielding accruing on the basis, and no forced payout schedule. It is the account that funds a freedom age of 45, because it is the account that is allowed to.
| IPS | ASK | |
|---|---|---|
| Deduction going in | 22% of contributions (cap 25,000/yr, 2026) | None |
| Tax coming out | Flat 22% as ordinary income | 37.84% effective on gains, deposits tax-free first |
| Wealth tax | Exempt entirely | Counts at 80% valuation |
| Access | Locked until 62 | Any day you like |
| Payout shape | Forced: at least 10 years, to at least age 80 | Whatever your plan needs |
| Role in a FIRE plan | The 62+ leg | The bridge to 62 |
Three rules for deciding
Rule one: the bridge always eats first. If you want out at 45, every krone locked in an IPS is a krone that cannot fund the seventeen years before 62. A FIRE plan that starves its bridge to chase a deduction has the priorities backwards. Fund the years you have to cross before you decorate the years beyond them.
Rule two: once the bridge is funded, the IPS is close to free money. For the part of retirement after 62, which the plan must fund anyway, the IPS buys that leg at a 22 percent discount going in, compounds untaxed, exits at a symmetric 22, and hides from the wealth tax the whole time. At a 25,000 cap it will not carry a whole retirement, but as the funding vehicle for the late leg it is quietly excellent.
Rule three: respect the payout corset. Money arriving as a thin stream over 18 years (62 to 80) is a different shape from money on demand. It pairs beautifully with the state pension arriving in the same window, and badly with a plan that needs a lump at 63. Model the stream, not the balance.
The same argument, in every country
Strip the Norwegian names off and the IPS versus ASK question is the one every early retiree faces: do you take a deduction now and accept that the money is locked until an age the state picks, or do you give up the deduction to keep the money reachable? Every country Runway models offers both sides of that trade, with different prices.
| Country | The locked one, and what it pays you up front | The reachable one |
|---|---|---|
| Norway | IPS, NOK 25,000 a year, refunded at 22 percent | ASK, uncapped |
| Canada | RRSP, 18 percent of income to CAD 33,810, refunded at about 31.5 percent | TFSA, CAD 7,000 a year |
| Germany | Rürup, to EUR 30,826 single or EUR 61,652 joint, refunded at about 42 percent | An ordinary Depot |
| France | PER, to EUR 37,680, refunded at about 30 percent | PEA, EUR 150,000 lifetime |
| Netherlands | Lijfrente, the jaarruimte to EUR 35,589, refunded at about 37.6 percent | Box 3 assets |
| Italy | Fondo pensione, EUR 5,300 a year, refunded at about 33 percent | PIR, EUR 40,000 a year |
| United Kingdom | Pension, with the allowance collapsing to GBP 10,000 for life once flexibly accessed | ISA, GBP 20,000 a year |
| Australia | Super, AUD 30,000 before tax, taxed at 15 percent inside the fund | An ordinary brokerage account |
The up-front refund is the loudest number in that table and it is usually the wrong one to optimise. A German taking 42 percent back on a Rürup contribution is being paid handsomely to lock money away, but if the plan is to stop working at 50 the lock costs more than the refund is worth, because the years between 50 and the unlock are precisely the years the plan has to survive on its own. The three Norwegian rules in the section above hold their shape everywhere: fill the reachable wrapper far enough to build the bridge, take the deduction with what is left over, and treat the refund as a discount rather than a reason.
Two wrinkles worth knowing before you copy someone else's answer. The UK's money purchase annual allowance is a trapdoor: touch a pension flexibly and your future allowance drops to GBP 10,000 permanently, which punishes the common FIRE move of dipping in early. And Australian super is not deduction-and-defer at all but a 15 percent toll on the way in, then tax free from 60, which is a completely different sum. See what Runway models per country. Figures are 2026 estimates, not tax advice.
Runway does this maths for you
Runway models both accounts as they really work: the IPS lock, its forced payout years, the ASK's withdrawal order. It shows your freedom age for free.
Download free on the App StoreFrequently asked
What changed for the IPS in 2026?
The yearly contribution cap rose from 15,000 to 25,000 kroner. The rest of the design is unchanged: a 22 percent deduction on contributions, tax-free growth, flat 22 percent tax on payouts, no access before age 62, and payout over at least 10 years running to at least age 80.
Is the IPS exempt from wealth tax?
Yes. IPS savings are excluded from the formuesskatt base entirely, which makes the IPS the one mainstream account where a large balance adds nothing to the yearly wealth-tax bill.
Should I fill the IPS or the ASK first for early retirement?
Fund the bridge first: the years between your freedom age and 62 can only be paid by accessible money, which means the ASK (and ordinary accounts). Once the bridge is covered, IPS contributions are an efficient way to fund the years after 62, effectively at a discount.
Is there an IPS versus ASK choice in other countries?
Yes, with different prices. The locked, deductible side is the RRSP in Canada (about 31.5 percent back), Rurup in Germany (about 42 percent), the PER in France (about 30 percent), the lijfrente in the Netherlands (about 37.6 percent), the fondo pensione in Italy (about 33 percent), a pension in the UK and super in Australia. The reachable side is the TFSA, a Depot, the PEA, Box 3 assets, the PIR, the ISA and an ordinary brokerage account. The rule that decides it is the same everywhere: an up-front refund is worth less than reachable money if you plan to stop working before the wrapper unlocks. Figures are 2026 estimates, not tax advice.
How is IPS money paid out?
Never as a lump. Payout must stretch over at least 10 years and continue to at least age 80, so starting at 62 means roughly an 18-year stream. Plans should model that stream's shape, not treat the balance as on-demand savings.
Written by Dylan, maker of Runway
An Italian who moved to Norway, building the cross-border FIRE planner that did not exist for someone like me. Runway runs entirely on your iPhone. It is an educational planning tool, not financial or tax advice.
See both accounts in one plan: Runway models the lock, the stream, and the bridge together, and the free FIRE calculator is the napkin to start from.
Sources worth checking yourself: skatteetaten.no on IPS and share income. Figures are for income year 2026.