Ireland Auto Enrolment: My Future Fund FAQs                                                                                                       

 

 

 

 

 

Auto-enrolment is a new retirement savings scheme for employees who do not currently contribute to a workplace or personal pension through payroll.

It aims to supplement the State Pension and improve retirement income adequacy.

The new name for Auto Enrolment is: My Future Fund

The Department of Social Protection has established a new independent authority called the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority or NAERSA for short.

NAERSA’s responsibilities include:

  • Administering the My Future Fund pension accounts
  • Ensuring contributions from employees, employers, and the State are correctly invested
  • Providing a secure online portal for employees to monitor and manage their pension savings
  • Ensuring compliance and transparency in the scheme’s operation

The auto-enrolment scheme will be supervised by the Pensions Authority

You will be auto-enrolled if:

  • You are aged 23 to 60
  • You earn €20,000 or more per year (this is across all employers)
  • You are not currently contributing to a pension through payroll

If you meet these criteria, you will be Auto Enrolled .

  • If you’ do not meet the criteria, you may still opt in voluntarily.

NAERSA will use Revenue payroll data and up to a 13-week lookback period to determine your estimated salary for the tax year. If you earned at least €5,000 in that period, you’ll be auto enrolled.

NAERSA will then notify your employer, or employers to auto enrol you and start making deductions from your salary.

Contributions are shared between you, your employer, and the State. They will start low and increase over time:

  • Year 1–3 (1 January 2026 to 31 December 2028):
    Employee 1.5%, Employer 1.5%, State 0.5%, Total 3.5%
     
  • Year 4–6 (1 January 2029 to 31 December 2031):
    Employee 3%, Employer 3%, State 1%, Total 7%
     
  • Year 7–9 (1 January 2032 to 31 December 2034):
    Employee 4.5%, Employer 4.5%, State 1.5%, Total 10.5%
     
  • Year 10+(1 January 2035 onwards):
    Employee 6%, Employer 6%, State 2%, Total 14%

The percentages will be applied to your gross earning up to maximum earnings of €80,000 each tax year.

You cannot pay any more OR less than the above percentages, but this may change in the future.

  • No, the percentage will be applied to your gross earnings before tax.
  • The State is topping-up the contributions that YOU pay by €1 for every €3 you that you pay

Employers will send your contributions together with the matching employer contributions to NAERSA who will then add the Government top-up to your record. This amount will then be invested in your account within My Future Fund.

You can choose from:

  • Three investment strategies (low, medium, high risk)
  • Or default to a “lifecycle” strategy that reduces investment risk as you approach retirement

The Department of Social Protection is in the process of developing a transparent and fair fee model for My Future Fund.

Charges will be set and fully explained nearer the launch date, but it is expected that they will comprise of:

  • A modest weekly flat fee to cover the running of NAERSA’s administrative costs; and
  • An investment management charge based on a percentage of the participant’s savings.

The Department of Social Protection will ensure that all fees are kept to a minimum and it is expected that over the medium to long term, total charges will be well below the stated target of 0.5% of assets under management.

Participants will receive an easy-to-follow annual statement (online) detailing the charges.

Administrative fees will not be charged on inactive accounts (this is where an individual has opted-out or suspended their membership), thereby avoiding a gradual erosiion of small-value savings pots.

If your combined income across all jobs exceeds €20,000 and you’re not contributing to a pension through payroll in one or more jobs, you’ll be auto-enrolled for those jobs where you are not contributing to a pension.

Contributions may pause depending on your payroll status You’ll remain enrolled and your savings will continue to grow.

Yes, but only:

  • After 6 months of being auto-enrolled, so during months 7 and 8 of your enrolment

If you opt-out, you’ll receive a refund of your own contributions , whilst the Employer and Government contributions will stay in your My Future Fund account and cannot be refunded.

This option will again be available 6 months after the contribution rates increase, but the refund will then only be the difference between the original and increased employee’s contributions for that 6 month period.

 Your pot remains invested and accessible when you reach your retirement age (currently 66).

Yes. You’ll be automatically re-enrolled after 2 years if you meet the eligibility conditions. You can opt out again after another 6 months.

Yes, you can suspend or pause contributions after the first 6 months.

At that time:

  • All contributions (employee, employer, State) will stop
  • Your existing savings remain invested
  • You must wait 12 months before resuming contributions
  • You will be re-enrolled after 2-years if you have not restarted payments

You won’t need to re-enrol or start a new scheme.

Your new or additional employer will be notified when to auto enrol you.

NAERSA (National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority) will hold all contributions from different employments under one fund record for you.

  • Your savings will remain invested
  • You’ll retain access to your My Future Fund account when you reach your retirement age (currently 66)
  • Contributions will resume if you return to Ireland, take up employment and meet the eligibility conditions.

Employees aged 18–22 or 60–66 can opt in voluntarily

All contributions (employee, employer, State) will become payable if they do.

You’ll use the NAERSA employee portal:

  • Log in with MyGovID credentials (www.mygovid.ie)
  • View savings, contributions, investment returns
  • Opt out, suspend, or change investment strategy

You cannot opt-out via Hays

If you're contributing to a personal or occupational pension through payroll, you will not be auto-enrolled for that employment. However, if you have a personal pension which you are paying via your bank, you will be auto enrolled. Also if you have more than one job where no pension contributions are made through payroll, you may be enrolled for that job.

Yes. You can continue directly contributing to a personal pension and you will be auto enroled into My Future Fund if you meet the age and salary criteria.

While My Future Fund aims to grow your retirement savings through regulated investments, all investments carry some level of risk. This means:

  • The value of your pension pot may fluctuate over time depending on market conditions.
  • There is a possibility of investment losses, especially in higher-risk strategies.
  • The scheme is designed to minimize risk through diversified investment strategies and lifecycle options that reduce investment risk as you approach retirement.
  • Your money is managed by professional fund managers and overseen by NAERSA, ensuring transparency and accountability

When you reach state pension age, currently 66.

The Department of Finance is in the process of legislating for the tax treatment of Auto enrolment so that it is similar to that applied to a PRSA.

At retirement, the drawdowns will have a tax-free lump sum of up to 25% of the fund, with the balance subject to income tax, and the Revenue will apply the ‘trivial pensions’ treatment where appropriate.

Employers who fail to:

  • Enrol eligible employees
  • Pay the required contributions
  • Inform employees that they have been auto enroled

...may face fines up to €50,000 AND be required to make the pension payments due including interest.