Auto-enrolment, to be known as ‘My Future Fund,’ is a new retirement savings scheme for employees which will commence in late September 2025.
How auto-enrolment will work: The National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA) will administer the auto-enrolment scheme, leaving minimal administrative work for employers.
Eligibility criteria for auto-enrolment: Employees who do not have a pension scheme, earn more than €20,000 per year and are aged between 23 and 60 will be automatically enrolled into the new system.
Contribution rates for employers: The contribution rates for auto-enrolment will be phased in over the first 10 years of the operation of the scheme. The employer contributions will start at 1.5% of gross pay, in year 4 they will increase to 3%, in year 7 they will increase to 4.5% and in in year 10 they will increase to the maximum rate of 6%
As auto-enrolment is new employment right, employers have responsibility to ensure that all eligible employees have access to the scheme. Employers who prevent their employees from joining the scheme, may be prosecuted and will be subject to fines and penalties.