The Minister of Social Protection Dara Colleary has confirmed that the auto-enrolment retirement savings scheme, goes live on 1 January 2026.
Are you ready?
If you need a refresher on auto-enrolment, click here to read our September blog post Auto-Enrolment: Everything You Need To Know
All businesses with employees in Ireland, regardless of size or structure, will have to facilitate the auto-enrolment scheme for employees who meet the eligibility criteria and for those who wish to opt in.
The National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA) is the state body in Ireland responsible for administering the new “My Future Fund” auto-enrolment pension scheme and they will handle the bulk of the administration.
Employees who meet these criteria will be automatically enrolled from 1st January 2026:
- Aged between 23 and 60.
- Earn more than €20,000 per year across all employments.
- Not currently paying into a work or private pension through payroll.
Employers your statutory requirements are:
- Register for the scheme. Complete the employer profile on NAERSA online portal on ROS when it is live in early December. Individual employees do not need to be registered.
- Specify how contributions will be paid. The preferred method is variable direct debit.
- Communicate with Employees. Inform staff about their enrolment, including contribution rates, their rights, and the opt-out/re-enrolment process. Employee letters will be available to download from the portal to distribute to employees.
- Comply with Auto-Enrolment through payroll software. NAERSA will issue notifications to the employer via download of Automatic Enrolment Payroll Notification (AEPN). This process and subsequent notifications and submissions will be embedded in payroll software in the same way that PAYE operates. The contribution file must be submitted to NAERSA on the pay date and contributions are collected immediately.
Employers what you need to do now:
- Audit your workforce. Identify employees who are eligible for auto-enrolment based on their age, earnings, and existing pension status. This will help you budget for the new costs and plan for any changes.
- Review cashflow. Once enrolled, employees can only opt out after 6 months. Employee contributions will be refunded, but employer contributions will not. Contributions are collected on Day 1, and no correction facility is available. Employee contributions are deducted from net pay; the State top up compensates for tax break.
- Assess existing pension schemes. If you already offer a pension scheme, check if it meets the auto-enrolment requirements. If not, you may need to run both schemes in parallel for different employees.
- Review employee contracts. Employees who are not in a workplace pension scheme are auto enrolled from Day 1, to avoid this new employees would need to be enrolled in a workplace pension from their start date.
Links
See below for further information about auto-enrolment from the Department of Employment Affairs & Social Protection.
DEASP information for employers
DEASP information for employees
Click here to read our blog post Auto-Enrolment: Everything You Need To Know
Need support?
If you have any questions or concerns about auto-enrolment, contact us today to check you are prepared. Please reach out to your usual Xeinadin advisor.
