Auto-enrolment is no longer coming — it’s here. My Future Fund launched on 1 January 2026, and Irish employers are now legally required to comply. If you’re still catching up, or want to make sure your business is doing everything correctly, this guide covers what you need to know right now.
Quick Status Check: Where Things Stand Today
My Future Fund began collecting contributions on 1 January 2026. Employer registration ran through December 2025, and by early 2026 tens of thousands of Irish employers had already signed up. If your business hasn’t registered yet, you’re already behind — and penalties apply for non-compliance.
Here’s the short version: if you employ anyone in Ireland, you almost certainly have obligations under this scheme, regardless of your company’s size or sector.
What Is Auto-Enrolment / My Future Fund?
My Future Fund is Ireland’s new national pension savings system, run by the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA). It was created because Ireland had one of the lowest rates of workplace pension coverage among OECD countries — roughly half of private sector workers had no pension savings at all before the scheme launched.
Unlike a traditional company pension, employees don’t need to sign up. If they meet the eligibility criteria, they’re enrolled automatically through payroll, and three parties contribute to their pot: the employee, the employer, and the State.
Who Is Automatically Enrolled?
An employee is automatically enrolled if they meet all three of the following conditions:
- Aged between 23 and 60
- Earning €20,000 or more per year (across all employments)
- Not currently paying into a workplace pension or PRSA through payroll
Employees outside this age or income bracket can still choose to opt in voluntarily and will receive the same employer and State contributions.
What Employers Need to Do
If you haven’t already, here’s what compliance actually looks like in practice:
- Register on the employer portal — done through the My Future Fund employer portal using your existing ROS login and certificate.
- Set up a Direct Debit for contribution payments.
- Identify eligible employees based on age, income, and existing pension status — this needs to be checked on an ongoing basis, not just once, since employees can become eligible as their circumstances change.
- Integrate with payroll so contributions are calculated and submitted automatically alongside your regular PAYE reporting.
- Communicate the change to staff — employees should understand what’s happening to their pay and why.
Most modern payroll and HR software can automate steps 3 and 4, which removes the biggest source of manual error and compliance risk.
How Much Do Employers and Employees Contribute?
Contributions are phased in gradually over ten years and are calculated on gross earnings up to €80,000 per year.
| Phase | Years | Employee | Employer | State | Total |
| Phase 1 | 2026–2028 | 1.5% | 1.5% | 0.5% | 3.5% |
| Phase 2 | 2029–2031 | 3% | 3% | 1% | 7% |
| Phase 3 | 2032–2034 | 4.5% | 4.5% | 1.5% | 10.5% |
| Phase 4 | From 2035 | 6% | 6% | 2% | 14% |
In practice, this means that for every €1 an employee contributes in Year 1, an additional roughly €1.33 is added on top by the employer and the State combined — before any investment growth.
One important distinction from a standard pension: My Future Fund contributions are not tax-relieved the way employee pension contributions normally are. Employees pay in from taxed income, with the State top-up effectively replacing the usual tax relief.
What Happens If a Business Doesn’t Comply?
This is where the stakes get serious. Non-compliance with the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Act 2024 is treated as a criminal offence, with penalties ranging from €5,000 to €50,000, and in severe cases, potential imprisonment. Employers are also legally prohibited from penalising or threatening an employee for participating in the scheme.
Given the scale of the fines and the operational disruption of a compliance failure, most businesses find it far cheaper to get their payroll and eligibility tracking right from the start than to fix it after an audit or complaint.
Can Employees Opt Out?
Yes, but not immediately. Employees cannot opt out during the first six months of enrolment. Between months six and eight, they get a window to opt out and receive a refund of their own contributions — though the employer and State contributions already paid in stay in the fund. If an employee opts out, they’ll be automatically re-enrolled after two years unless they’ve set up another qualifying pension in the meantime.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does auto-enrolment apply to company directors? Only if they’re paid as employees through payroll and meet the standard age and earnings criteria — not otherwise.
- What if an employee already has a private pension (PRSA)? Having a PRSA on its own doesn’t create an exemption. Unless it’s part of a qualifying workplace scheme with employer contributions made through payroll, the employee will still be auto-enrolled.
- Can an employer choose their own pension provider? No. Unlike traditional company pension schemes, My Future Fund providers are selected and managed centrally by the State — employers don’t choose or switch providers themselves.
- What about seasonal or irregular workers? Eligibility is based on projected annual earnings. If an employee is expected to earn €20,000 or more over the year, they must be enrolled, even if their income is irregular or seasonal.
- Is auto-enrolment mandatory for every employer, regardless of size? Yes. All employers with at least one employee subject to Irish income tax must comply, regardless of company size or sector.
- Does the scheme currently apply to self-employed people? No, not in this initial phase. My Future Fund currently applies only to PAYE employees. Self-employed individuals can still contribute to their own pension arrangements, such as a PRSA, outside the scheme.
How Time Point CloudHelps You Stay Compliant
Manually tracking employee eligibility — ages, earnings thresholds, existing pension status, and changes over time — is exactly the kind of ongoing administrative task that’s easy to get wrong when handled in spreadsheets. Time Point’s HR and payroll tools help by:
- Automatically flagging employees who newly meet the eligibility criteria as their pay or circumstances change
- Keeping contribution calculations in sync with your payroll runs
- Maintaining a clear audit trail in case of a compliance review
If you want to make sure your business is fully set up for My Future Fund without the manual admin burden, get in touch with our team for a free consultation.
This article is for general information purposes and does not constitute financial or legal advice. For guidance specific to your business, consult the official resources at gov.ie or myfuturefund.ie, or speak with a qualified advisor