Employers who 'behave badly' over pension scheme will be 'chased down'

Employees who are not already involved in an occupational pension scheme, who are between the ages of 23 and 50 and earning €20,000, will be automatically enrolled as part of the act.

Employers who try to force or dissuade their workers out of the newly-planned auto-enrolment pension scheme could face “sanctions, penalties, and prosecutions”, an Oireachtas committee has heard.

Officials from the Department of Social Protection addressed TDs and senators on the scheme which is due to start from January 1, and said employers who “behave badly” and try to reclassify workers to avoid paying pension contributions would be “chased down”.