Auto-enrolment, to be known as ‘My Future Fund’, is a new retirement savings scheme for employees commencing on 1 January 2026.
The scheme aims to support people who are not making contributions into an occupational or other supplementary pension scheme to help them maintain their standard of living in retirement.
You will be automatically enrolled in the new scheme if you are an employee and:
• are aged between 23 and 60
• are not currently part of a pension plan
• earn €20,000 or more per year
If you previously contributed to a pension but now do not, and you meet the other conditions, you will be automatically enrolled.
If you earn less than €20,000 per year, or you are not aged between 23 and 60, you can choose to join the scheme if you are not already part of a pension plan.
The amount you pay will be a set rate of your annual salary. Your employer will match your contributions, and the Government will contribute an additional amount. You cannot pay more or less than the set rate.
You and your employer will pay 1.5% of your annual salary in the first year. This will increase to 6% by year 10.
The table below sets out the rates you, your employer, and the Government will pay:
| Year of the auto-enrolment scheme | Employee Contribution Rate | Employer pays | Government pays | |
| 1 to 3 | 1.50% | 1.50% | 0.50% | |
| 4 to 6 | 3% | 3% | 1% | |
| 7 to 9 | 4.50% | 4.50% | 1.50% | |
| 10 and after | 6% | 6% | 2% |
Example
The table below includes an example of a worker earning €20,000 a year:
| Year of the auto-enrolment scheme | Employee pays | Employer pays | Government pays | Total payments per year | |
| 1 to 3 | €300 | €300 | €100 | €700 | |
| 4 to 6 | €600 | €600 | €200 | €1,400 | |
| 7 to 9 | €900 | €900 | €300 | €2,100 | |
| 10 and after | €1,200 | €1,200 | €400 | €2,800 |
For every €3 that you contribute to your pension fund, your employer will put in €3, and the Government will put in €1. This means that for every €3 you contribute, €7 will be added to your account.
Both an employer’s and the Government’s contributions are capped at €80,000 annual gross salary.
If you earn over €80,000, you can still contribute but your employer or the Government will not match your contributions on any income over €80,000.
After you are enrolled you must stay in the pension scheme for at least 6 months. If you opt-out 6 months after you have been enrolled your contributions will be refunded.
You can also suspend your contributions at any time. But you will not get a refund.
If you stop working or move abroad at any time before retirement, you will stay enrolled, but you will not make additional contributions. Your existing savings will continue to be invested.
If you leave the plan or suspend contributions, you will be automatically re-enrolled after 2 years if you are still eligible. If you have an alternative pension plan, you will not be re-enrolled.
You can rejoin the plan at any time before the 2 years pass.
The invested savings will be paid to participants when they reach the State retirement age (currently age 66), in addition to the State Pension.
My Future Fund has been designed to keep employer administration to a minimum. A new body, the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA) will handle the bulk of this work. That includes by identifying and enrolling eligible employees, managing opt-ins, opt-outs and suspensions, calculating contributions and notifying employers of amounts due through payroll.