Auto-Enrolment Pension Ireland — Employer Obligations 2026

Ireland's long-delayed automatic enrolment pension scheme — officially the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Scheme, marketed to the public as "My Future Fund" — places new payroll and record-keeping obligations on employers. Unlike a standard workplace pension, you don't choose a provider or set up a scheme yourself: eligible staff are enrolled centrally, and your job is to identify who qualifies, deduct the right contribution, and remit it correctly. This guide covers what every Irish employer needs to know.

What is automatic enrolment (My Future Fund)?

Automatic enrolment is a new, State-backed retirement savings system created under the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Act 2024. It targets the large share of private-sector employees in Ireland who have no supplementary pension provision beyond the State Pension.

It is administered centrally by the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA) rather than through an employer-selected pension provider. You do not shop around for a scheme, negotiate charges, or manage investment fund choices — that side is handled centrally. Your obligations are limited to identifying eligible employees and processing contributions through payroll.

Which employees must be auto-enrolled?

An employee must be automatically enrolled if they meet all of the following criteria:

Aged between 23 and 60
Earning €20,000 or more a year, aggregated across all of their employments
Not already an active member of a qualifying occupational or personal pension scheme with that employer
Working in insurable (PRSI Class A-type) employment in Ireland

Contribution rates and the phase-in schedule

Contributions are phased in gradually over ten years to soften the impact on take-home pay and payroll costs. Both employee and employer contribute matching percentages of gross earnings (up to an earnings ceiling of €80,000), and the State tops up every €3 the employee saves with an additional €1:

Period	Employee	Employer	State top-up	Total
Years 1–3	1.5%	1.5%	0.5%	3.5%
Years 4–6	3%	3%	1%	7%
Years 7–9	4.5%	4.5%	1.5%	10.5%
Year 10 onward	6%	6%	2%	14%

What employers must actually do

Identify which employees meet the eligibility criteria each pay period — this must be checked on an ongoing basis, since staff can move in and out of eligibility as pay or age changes
Deduct the employee contribution through payroll, alongside PAYE, PRSI and USC
Remit both the employee and employer contributions to the central collection system on the schedule NAERSA specifies
Keep records of enrolment, contributions, and any opt-outs
Notify employees when they are enrolled and provide the information they are entitled to receive about the scheme
Re-assess employees who previously opted out or fell outside the criteria — the system re-enrols eligible employees periodically

Employees who already have a workplace pension

If an employee is already an active member of a qualifying pension scheme through their employer — broadly, one where the employer also contributes — they are excluded from automatic enrolment for that employment. If you already operate a workplace pension that most staff participate in, your exposure may be limited to new hires, part-time staff, or employees who haven't joined your existing scheme. It's worth reviewing participation rates in your current scheme now, since anyone not enrolled in it will default into automatic enrolment once the criteria are met.

Opt-out rules

Employees cannot opt out immediately on enrolment. They must remain enrolled for a minimum period — currently six months — before an opt-out window opens. If they opt out within that window, they receive a refund of their own contributions; employer contributions and the State top-up already paid are not refunded to the employee. Employees who opt out are automatically re-enrolled periodically if they still meet the eligibility criteria, giving them a recurring opportunity to save.

Penalties and enforcement

NAERSA has powers to compel compliance, including requiring employers to provide payroll data, correct under-deductions, and pay outstanding contributions with interest. Persistent or wilful non-compliance can lead to enforcement notices and financial penalties, similar to Revenue's enforcement of PAYE and PRSI. Treat automatic enrolment with the same seriousness as your existing payroll tax obligations — it is not an optional employee benefit you can decline to administer.

How to prepare

Confirm your payroll software or payroll provider supports automatic enrolment contribution calculations and remittance
Run a first-pass eligibility check across your current staff using the age and earnings criteria above
Review any existing workplace pension scheme to confirm which employees count as already provided for and are excluded from automatic enrolment
Budget for the employer contribution as a payroll cost increase, not a discretionary benefit
Check gov.ie and the My Future Fund / NAERSA website for the current implementation timeline — the scheme's start date has been revised more than once, so confirm the live date that applies to you rather than relying on an earlier announced date