Department reports jump in employers registering for pension auto-enrolment

For each €3 saved by a worker, there will be a €3 payment by their employer and a €1 top-up from the State. File photo

There has been a surge in employers registering for the Government’s new auto-enrolment pension scheme, with over half of eligible workers now signed up.

New figures from the Department of Social Protection show there have been 474,000 employees signed up to the scheme by 44,000 employers across the country.

There are currently around 750,000 workers across the country who do not have a pension provision, beyond the State pension.

It is expected the number of employees signed up to the auto-enrolment scheme will reach 500,000 over the weekend.

The pension scheme itself is set to begin operation on January 1, with any employee who meets the eligibility criteria due to be signed up automatically.

These criteria include:

• Being aged between 23 and 60.
• Earning €20,000 or more.
• Not having existing pension coverage.

This will see a pension contribution automatically deducted from their salary and transferred to a retirement savings account. There will be a requirement for employers to match the contributions, as well as a top-up from the State.

For each €3 saved by a worker, there will be a €3 payment by their employer and a €1 top-up from the State.

Social protection minister Dara Calleary welcomed the number of employers engaging with the new scheme ahead of its rollout.

“These early figures demonstrate what we have been experiencing throughout the development of MyFutureFund, that the majority of employers are fully embracing the State’s new automatic enrolment retirement savings scheme,” Mr Calleary said.

“The strong take-up so far is a testament to extensive engagement and preparatory work done with employers across the country. Registering on the MyFutureFund portal will take less than 10 minutes and can be done in three easy steps.”

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At present, Ireland is the only country in the OECD which does not have an auto-enrolment pension scheme. The scheme itself is due to be operated by a newly established agency, the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA).

Employees will be able to choose how their retirement savings are invested and will be able to opt for three strategies: Low-risk, medium-risk and high-risk.

There are also provisions for workers to opt out of the scheme, but not until six months after their enrolment. They will have their six months of savings refunded, however they will be automatically re-enrolled after two years.

Ahead of the introduction of auto-enrolment, employers are being asked to ensure their payroll systems are ready for the scheme’s commencement in January.