Irish auto-enrolment: guide to 2026 pension changes

Irish businesses have entered a new era for workplace pensions.

With My Future Fund (MFF), also known as automatic-enrolment and auto-enrolment, officially in effect as of 1 January 2026, the way employers handle retirement savings has shifted.

If you’re looking at the new regulations and wondering where to start, you aren’t alone.

In this blog, we offer a clear overview of the legislation, helping you meet your new obligations with confidence.

Auto-enrolment is a state-led pension scheme designed to support workers who aren’t currently saving into a workplace pension.

The goal is simple: ensure everyone has access to retirement savings.

This scheme automatically enrols eligible individuals into the state-led pension scheme, with the option to opt out after six months.

It’ll be administered by a new statutory body, the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA), under oversight from the Pensions Authority.  

Note: the system is designed to supplement, not replace, the state pension.  

There are a number of areas employers must consider, relating to auto-enrolment.

Auto-enrolment will impact employees who meet all of the following conditions:

If an employee ticks all these boxes, they will be automatically enrolled in the My Future Fund.

Note: employees outside these criteria (e.g., aged < 23 or > 60, or earning less than the threshold) may opt in under the following  rules:

Note: self-employed individuals cannot currently opt in to MyFutureFund.

To start, employees and employers each contribute 1.5% of the employee’s total remuneration, capped at €80,000. 

The State will then top up contributions, initially by 0.5%, increasing over time. 

Over time (several ‘years’ or ‘phases’), the contribution rates will increase until the employee and employer contribution rates reach 6% each, and the state top-up 2%.  

Capping of matching/top-ups: employer and Government contributions will not match on earnings above €80,000. Employee contributions pause too, so in effect stopped for the remainder of the tax year, resetting at the beginning of the new tax year if the worker is still eligible.

Yes, after being auto-enrolled for six months, an employee may opt out or suspend contributions (months seven and eight). 

If an employee chooses to opt out, their contributions are refunded; however, in the event of an opt-out, employer and State contributions remain in the fund.  

However, there is no refund for auto-enrolment suspensions.

Note: those employees who have opted out will be automatically re-enrolled after two years, if still eligible.  

Under My Future Fund, there are some factors that exempt employees from being enrolled.

For example, if an employer already has a pension scheme (occupational scheme or PRSA) that qualifies, employees under that scheme are exempt from auto-enrolment. 

To qualify, an occupational pension scheme or PRSA must contribute 3.5% or  €2,800 of an employee’s gross pay per year, whichever is lesser, of which 1.5% or €1,200 per year, whichever is lesser, must be made by the employer.

Note: employers must ensure their scheme’s terms allow new members and meet auto-enrolment compliance for new entrants.  

Under the new scheme, employers must deduct contributions from payroll and pay employer contributions accordingly, with NEARSA applying the state top-up amount directly.  

Employers will receive ‘auto-enrolment payroll notifications’ (AEPNs) from NAERSA, similar to Revenue’s payroll notifications, indicating which employees must be enrolled.  

It’s also the employer’s responsibility to notify employees when they are enrolled, as well as maintaining records of enrolment, contributions and opt-outs, reporting to the relevant authorities/portal.

Employers who fail to comply may face fixed penalties or fines (e.g., up to €5,000) and possibly other sanctions.  

Examples of non-compliance include not enrolling eligible employees or failing to pay contributions.

For your first payroll (Jan) with auto-enrolment in place, employers must:

Additionally, you must communicate with staff, issuing a formal notice to all employees and providing an opt-out timeline.

Regarding your monitoring, confirm deductions match AEPNs and ensure NAERSA accepts your reporting.

As the scheme progresses and evolves, so must your processes.

In Q2 of 2026 (April-June), you should:

If you’re looking for more support, we’ve created a handy guide, offering a comprehensive overview of the scheme.

The guide covers the following in greater detail:

Click here to download the guide.