New awareness campaign for pension auto-enrolment scheme
The multimedia advertising campaign will inform people about how the new system will work, who can participate, and what it will mean for them.
The scheme will be rolled out from 1 January 2026 and is designed to help over 800,000 workers to begin saving for their retirement.
All employees not already in an occupational pension scheme, aged between 23 and 60 and earning over €20,000 across all of their employments, will be automatically enrolled in the new scheme.
It will be gradually phased in over a decade, with both employer and employee contributions starting at 1.5% and increasing every three years by 1.5% until they eventually reach 6% by year 10.
The State will top up contributions by €1 for every €3 saved by the employee. This is in addition to the €3 that will also be contributed by the employer.
Eligible employees will be automatically enrolled but will have the choice after six months participation to opt-out or suspend participation.
"An important message we want to get across to employers is that My Future Fund has been specifically designed to keep employer administration to a minimum," said Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary.
"A new body, the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA) will handle the bulk of this work," the Minister said.
"That includes identifying and enrolling eligible employees, managing opt-ins, opt-outs and suspensions, calculating contributions, and notifying employers of amounts due through payroll," Mr Calleary said.
The start date for pension auto-enrolment was originally 30 September 2025 but was delayed to January 2026.
The Government said it changed the date to align the new system with the standard tax year and to give additional time for payroll providers to get their systems ready.
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions criticised the delay, describing it as a bitter pill to swallow for the more than 800,000 workers without a workplace pension.
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