What is auto-enrolment?
- Auto-enrolment will be called ‘My Future Fund’ and is run by a new Government body, the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA).
- All employees aged between 23 and 60, earning over €20,000 per annum and not currently contributing to a pension will be enrolled via their payroll.
- Employers will need to facilitate and contribute to auto enrolment; even companies with existing workplace pension schemes may be impacted.
- Auto-enrolment does not apply to self-employed.
- The planned launch date is 1st January 2026.
Are you an employee?
Find out how auto-enrolment may impact you, as an individual, and what your options are.
How should your company prepare?
Review your current workplace situation
You may already offer a workplace pension, but has everyone joined? If not, they will be automatically enrolled into My Future Fund. The first step is to check how many employees have not joined your workplace pension scheme and make a plan. If you don’t offer a workplace pension, you need to evaluate the best solution for your company and employees.
Decide on your pension approach
Every employer must provide access to a pension scheme for their employees. This can be a basic solution like auto-enrolment, a more comprehensive workplace pension or a mixture of both. There are lots of factors to consider before you make your decision. For example, if you already offer a workplace pension, you will still need to arrange auto-enrolment for employees who are not part of your workplace pension.
Learn about Zurich Master Trust >
Inform and support your employees
Once you’ve made a decision on your approach, communicate this with your employees. Outline how this will affect them and what they need to do. It’s also important to outline the benefits of a pension scheme and how this will support them in retirement.
Key takeaways
- It’s important for employers to assess the pension gap in their business and make a decision now
- Communication with employees is key
- Get advice from the experts to help you
Zurich Master Trust: 40 years of experience
Zurich has been managing workplace pensions in Ireland for over 40 years. Our expertise across scheme governance, investments, member engagement and administration is why thousands of local and global companies trust us with their employees’ needs. We will work with you, your employees and advisors to make sure that setting up and managing your employee benefits is seamless, efficient, and pain-free.
- Technical and Legal support
- Robust employee engagement programme
- Tailored online portal for employees
Auto enrolment or workplace pension?
For the first time, employers will be required to contribute towards a pension scheme for all eligible employees, meaning that some employers may be better off setting up their own workplace pension scheme. We compare the differences between auto-enrolment and a workplace pension below.
| My Future Fund (auto-enrolment) | Workplace pension | |
|---|---|---|
| What is it? | This is a supplement to the State pension, for those who do not have a workplace pension scheme (and meet other eligibility criteria). | This is a pension arrangement set-up by employers for their employee's benefit. |
| Eligibility criteria |
|
The employer can decide to make membership of the workplace pension compulsory or optional. |
| Contributions |
AE will adopt a phased introductory process. From launch date, contributions in years 1-3 will start at: Employee 1.5%, employer 1.5%, State 0.5% of overall earnings to a maximum of €80,000. These amounts will increase as My Future Fund progresses. |
Contributions from both the employer and/or employee are usually set out by the employer in an employee's contract – additional voluntary contributions (AVCs) can be made by employees. |
| Income tax benefit v State contribution | The State contribution is 0.5% of the employee’s eligible earnings in years 1-3. This will increase as My Future Fund progresses. | Income tax relief of 20% or 40% depending on the employee earning tax band. Relief is limited to age-related earnings percentage limits from 15% to 40%. Tax relief is capped at the total earning limit, currently €115,000. |
| Corporate tax benefit | Limited to the employer contribution set by auto enrolment. | Corporate tax benefit on employer contribution with generous limits applying. |
| Investment options | Limited investment options. | Numerous investment funds available to suit different risk levels together with flexible investment strategies. |
| Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) | Currently not allowed. | Allowed. |
| Retirement age | State pension age (currently 66). | The normal retirement age as set out when the workplace pension was established with access anytime from age 50 with the permission of the employer. |
| Drawdown options |
Currently limited to lump sum payment. May evolve as the system matures. |
Tax free cash alongside Approved Retirement Fund (ARF) and annuities options. |
FAQs
All employees that satisfy the following eligibility criteria will be automatically enrolled:
- Aged between 23 and 60.
- Earning over €20,000 per annum.
- Not already paying into a work or private pension through payroll.
It’s expected employers will need to:
- Register for an online portal for My Future Fund which will include signing up to a payment method for contributions
- Communicate with impacted employees who will be subject to auto-enrolment into My Future Fund
- Apply the Payroll notifications they receive from NAERSA for impacted employee’s that are to be auto-enrolled and deduct/pay the relevant contributions and forward to NAERSA
Employees, employers and the Government contributions automatically increase over time as the number of years of participation in the AE scheme increase: This table* shows the rates you, employees and the Government will pay:
The main cost is the contribution you will need to pay for each employee. The contribution rates are outlined in the table above and will be calculated on the employee’s gross salary and paid from the net.
Yes, employers should review their employment contracts for future employees with auto-enrolment in mind. Employers who wish to provide a private workplace pension instead of My Future Fund may also wish to consider whether they wish to make this mandatory for new employees from the date they start working to avoid enrolment into My Future Fund. Employers should seek advice from your Financial Advisor, legal or HR professionals where necessary.
Any existing pension scheme will run in parallel to auto-enrolment. If your existing pension scheme includes all your employees then you will not have to enrol anyone into My Future Fund. However, if any current or future employees are not included in your pension scheme for any period of time, they will be subject to auto-enrolment. With this in mind you should speak to your Financial Advisor to determine if your existing workplace pension scheme eligibility criteria needs to be updated to allow for the new pensions environment when auto-enrolment launches.
No, once there is a pension contribution paid through payroll from an employee or employer, the employee will be deemed as having pension coverage already and won’t be enrolled into My Future Fund for that employment.
However it is planned that by the end of year six of the operation of the new auto-enrolment pension scheme (at the latest) that standards for the exemption of existing pension schemes will be developed with the assistance of the Pensions Authority.
Yes, employers who fail to comply are open to facing penalties including fines and prosecution.
*Citizens Information website, 2025.
The information contained herein is based on Zurich's understanding of current Revenue practice as at July 2025 and may change in the future.