One in 10 workers signed up for auto enrolment reside in Cork

Social protection minister Dara Calleary, with National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA) chair Roma Burke and NAERSA chief executive Dermot Griffin. One in 10 workers signed up for the Government’s Auto-Enrolment (AE) scheme, ‘My Future Fund’, come from Cork, with one in three from Dublin.  Picture: Maxwell’s

One in 10 workers signed up for the Government’s Auto-Enrolment (AE) scheme, ‘My Future Fund’, come from Cork, with one in three from Dublin. 

Some 75,706 signed up for the scheme reside in Cork, while 242,611 come from Dublin, according to figures released by the Dept of Social Protection. A further 38,463 - one in 20 – workers auto-enrolled come from Galway, while 28,178 come from Limerick, 21,924 from Kerry, 16,925 from Waterford,  23,263 from Tipperary, and 15,460 from Clare. 

Over 763,000 employees have been automatically enrolled since My Future Fund launched at the start of the year, with their first contribution to the scheme made in January and their second contribution made in February. 

According to financial advisory Ask Acorn chief executive Keith Butler, workers should now weigh up AE before the opt-out window closes. For any worker enrolled on January 1, this means that their opt-out window runs until between June and August. "Workers who have been signed up to AE should note that it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. For some, this scheme will be a good fit. But for others, particularly those with different income levels, career paths or retirement goals, the contribution levels under AE may not fully meet their desired retirement income targets," said Mr Butler.

"If you’re one of the 763,000 workers that has been signed up to AE, it’s important to take the time to make sure you are making adequate provisions for your retirement."