The Government is introducing auto-enrolment pensions in Ireland from September 2025. This is a Government plan that is a long time in the making, and could be a great step towards helping employees maintain a higher standard of living in their retirement.
Auto-enrolment is a new pension savings scheme for employees who are not paying into a pension scheme. They will be automatically included in the scheme but can opt out after 6 months.
The introduction of the Auto-Enrolment Retirement Savings Scheme, called My Future Fund, will start from 30 September 2025.
Under the scheme, the employee, employer, and Government all pay a certain amount into the employee’s pension fund.
A new public body, the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority, will be set up to administer the Auto-enrolment scheme. The scheme will be supervised by the Irish Pensions Authority.
You will be automatically enrolled in the new pension scheme if you are an employee and:
You are aged between 23 and 60 years of age
You are not currently part of a pension plan
You 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 years, you can choose to join the pension scheme if you are not already part of a pension plan.
If your employer does not meet their auto-enrolment obligations, they will be subject to penalties and possibly to prosecution. If they don’t make contributions on your behalf, they could be fined and have to make repayments with interest.
You will not be enrolled in the new auto-enrolment scheme if you are paying into a workplace pension plan/scheme.
If you change jobs after being automatically enrolled, you won’t need to change pension or join a new scheme.
Whether auto-enrolment or your personal pension is better for you depends on your own situation and circumstances. You certainly could review your personal pension and compare it with the benefits of auto-enrolment to see what works best for you.
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.
If you choose to leave the scheme in month 7 or 8 after a change in contribution rates, you will get a refund. This refund will be based on the difference between your own contributions at the old and new rates during the previous 6 months.
You can also suspend your contributions at any time. In this case, you will not get a refund. If you leave the plan or suspend your contributions, you will be automatically re-enrolled after 2 years if you are still eligible for the scheme. However, if you have an alternative pension plan, you won’t be re-enrolled.
You can rejoin the plan at any time before the 2 years pass.
You can rejoin before 2 years if you wish.
Contributions that are not refunded, including those made by your employer and the Government, stay in your savings pot and will continue to be invested.
If you stop working or move abroad at any time before retirement, you will stay enrolled, but you will not be able to make additional contributions. Your existing savings will continue to be invested. This means you can still access to that pension pot at retirement.
Ideal for Busy Professionals, Business Owners & Senior Executives
Year of the auto-enrolment scheme | Employee Contribution Rate | Employer pays | Government pays |
|---|---|---|---|
1–3 | 1.5% | 1.5% | 0.5% |
4–6 | 3% | 3% | 1% |
7-9 | 4.5% | 4.5% | 1.5% |
10 and after | 6% | 6% | 2% |
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.
Below are the rates you, your employer, and the Government will pay:
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 | Total payments per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1–3 | €300 | €300 | €100 | €700 |
4–6 | €600 | €600 | €200 | €1,400 |
7-9 | €900 | €900 | €200 | €2,100 |
10 and after | €1200 | €1200 | €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 gross annual salary. This means for the first 3 years, the maximum amount an employer can contribute is €1,200 a year. This is because 1.5% of €80,000 is €1,200. The maximum amount the Government can contribute is €400 a year, which is 0.5% of €80,000.
If you earn over €80,000, you can still contribute but your employer or the Government won’t match your contributions on any income over €80,000.
Feel free to contact our office with any questions on your existing pension, email info@guardianwealth.ie phone: 01 5267770 or 053 9110380.
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