My Future Fund Auto-Enrolment: What Irish Employers Need to Know
Ireland's pension landscape changed for good on 1 January 2026. My Future Fund, the country's new automatic pension enrolment scheme, is now live — and if you employ staff in Ireland, it almost certainly affects your payroll, regardless of your business size.
This guide covers exactly who gets enrolled, what it costs, and how to make sure your payroll process is ready.
What is My Future Fund?
My Future Fund is Ireland's new national auto-enrolment retirement savings scheme, run by the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA). Instead of employees having to opt in to a pension, eligible staff are now enrolled automatically, unless they're already contributing to a qualifying pension through payroll.
It's designed to close a long-standing gap: for years, a large share of Irish private-sector workers had no supplementary pension at all and would have relied solely on the State Pension in retirement.
Who gets automatically enrolled?
An employee is automatically enrolled if they:
- Are aged between 23 and 60
- Earn €20,000 or more a year
- Are not already contributing to a pension through payroll
NAERSA checks eligibility using a rolling 13-week lookback on earnings — if someone earns €5,000 or more in that window, they can be enrolled even mid-year or as a new starter.
Employees outside these age or earnings thresholds can still choose to opt in voluntarily.
Company directors are included too, as long as they're paid through payroll and pay PRSI as an employee. Self-employed directors who don't run PRSI-liable payroll are not automatically enrolled.
What does it cost employers?
Contributions are phased in gradually over ten years, and the employer must match the employee's contribution:
PeriodEmployeeEmployerStateYears 1–3 (2026–2028)1.5%1.5%0.5%Years 4–6 (2029–2031)3%3%1%Years 7–9 (2032–2034)4.5%+4.5%+1.5%+Year 10+6%6%2%
Both the employer and State contributions are capped at €80,000 of gross annual salary. If an employee earns more than that, contributions above the cap aren't matched.
Budget for this now — it's a genuine new line item in your payroll costs, and it only grows over the next decade.
Can employees opt out?
Yes, but not immediately. Employees must stay enrolled for the first 6 months, then get a 2-month window to opt out (for example, someone enrolled on 1 January 2026 can opt out in July or August 2026). If they opt out, they get their own contributions refunded — but the employer and State portions stay in the fund.
After 6 months, employees can also choose to suspend contributions instead of opting out fully. Anyone who opts out or suspends is automatically re-enrolled after 2 years if they still meet the criteria.
Does this replace an existing company pension scheme?
No — and importantly, if you already run a qualifying occupational pension scheme and your staff are contributing to it through payroll, those employees are exempt from auto-enrolment for that employment. You don't need to run two schemes side by side for the same person.
What do employers need to do right now?
- Register on the NAERSA employer portal and link your payroll system.
- Identify which staff meet the eligibility criteria — including new starters, part-timers over the threshold, and directors on payroll.
- Review your payroll software to confirm it can process auto-enrolment deductions and connect via the required AEPN (Automatic Enrolment Payroll Notification) files.
- Budget for the matching employer contribution as an ongoing payroll cost.
- Review employment contracts with your solicitor to reflect the new pension provision.
- Communicate with your team — employees will have questions about opt-outs, deductions, and how it affects take-home pay.
What happens if an employer doesn't comply?
Auto-enrolment is a legal requirement, not optional. Employers who fail to enrol eligible staff, deduct contributions correctly, or remit them to NAERSA face penalties and possible prosecution.
How CloudHR helps
CloudHR's Irish payroll module is built to handle My Future Fund deductions alongside PAYE, PRSI, and USC — so eligible employees are enrolled and contributions calculated automatically, without a separate spreadsheet or manual process bolted onto your existing payroll.
FAQ
When did auto-enrolment start in Ireland? 1 January 2026.
Who runs the auto-enrolment scheme? NAERSA — the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority, a new independent public body set up specifically to administer it.
Are part-time employees included? Yes, if they meet the age and earnings thresholds.
Can an employee stay opted out permanently? Not indefinitely — they'll be automatically re-enrolled every 2 years if they still qualify, and can opt out again each time within the window.
Does auto-enrolment apply to income above €80,000? No — employer and State contributions are capped at €80,000 gross salary, though the employee can still contribute above that if they choose.
This article is for general guidance. Contribution rates, thresholds, and rules may change — always confirm current details with NAERSA or Revenue.ie before making payroll decisions.
