Auto-enrolment start date of Jan 1st must happen so workers have proper pension cover – O’Shea

A new public awareness campaign on the auto-enrolment retirement savings scheme further copper-fastens the start date of January 1^st 2026  for this transformational measure for workers, a Fine Gael TD has said.

Deputy O’Shea said: “The launch of the ‘My Future Fund’ information campaign today informs employers and employees about how the scheme will work and what needs to be in place in advance of the scheme starting.

“The delivery of My Future Fund will be transformational for this country. Ireland is the only country in the OECD that does not have an auto-enrolment scheme in place. We know that pension coverage is too low in this country. Recent figures have shown that it is as low as 35 per cent in the private sector. My Future Fund will see employers match the amounts saved by their employees. The State will then top-up each participant’s savings pot by €1 for every €3 they contribute.

“From an employers’ viewpoint, the scheme has been designed to keep administration simple. To achieve this, a new body, the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA) will identify and enrol eligible employees, managing all aspects of opt-ins and opt-outs. Employers will only have to engage with NAERSA and transfer the contributions owed for employees.