Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary.

Mayo minister addresses emerging issue as new pension plan launched

Minister for Social Protection, Dara Calleary, has revealed his department has been advised that some employers are incorrectly informing staff that because of a change in legislation they are now obliged to join an employer sponsored pension scheme before the end of 2026.

The Mayo-based TD elaborated: "This may be due to a misunderstanding on the part of some employers.

"The department wishes to clarify that has been no change in legislation that obliges a worker to join an employer sponsored pension scheme, nor is there any change that obliges an employer to enrol their employees into such a scheme.

"Employees who are being advised that they must join an employer sponsored scheme should check if this is a condition of their employment contract.

"If it is not, they are encouraged to carefully consider the terms of membership and the benefits of the employer sponsored scheme.

"In particular they should check if the terms of the scheme are more beneficial to them than those of the new MyFutureFund scheme that is due to commence from January 1.

"Employers are reminded that it is an offence to take any action that hinders or attempts to hinder an employee from participating in the MyFutureFund scheme.

"Any cases where employees are illegally obliged to join another pension scheme such that they are then prevented from accessing the MyFutureFund scheme will be fully investigated."

Minister made his comments after formally established NAERSA - the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority.

In August, Minister Calleary announced the appointment of key senior personnel to NAERSA, including the CEO, Chair, and Board Members. Minister Calleary met with the new NAERSA Board today during its inaugural meeting.

Ahead of the meeting, the minister signed a commencement order which formally establishes NAERSA with effect from today.

"The establishment of NAERSA is a significant step to ensure around 750,000 workers, who currently are not actively paying into a pension through payroll, will have access to quality assured retirement savings from 1st January 2026.

NAERSA will administer the auto-enrolment scheme, MyFutureFund, facilitating people to save and invest for their retirement. It will handle the bulk of the administration of the scheme by determining eligibility for auto-enrolment and enrolling eligible employees.

It will also collect all employee, employer and State contributions, and invest the money on participants’ behalf.

A default investment strategy will be in place, but some alternative investment options will be available for those who may wish to make a more active investment choice.

NAERSA will then allocate any investment returns to participants’ savings pots. Participants’ will keep one savings pot as they move from job to job – this is known as the ‘pot-follows-member’ approach.

NAERSA will operate an online portal for employees through the MyFutureFund website, to manage employee opt-outs, opt-ins, suspension of contributions and re-enrolment.

Employers will also have a dedicated MyFutureFund portal where they will be able to view their enrolled employees, access resources and check their payment records.

All of this means that there will be very little administration for employers when compared to setting up and administering a workplace pension scheme.

All employers will be asked to do, from December in the lead up to the introduction of MyFutureFund, is complete their profile on the employer portal and set up a payment method for contributions. Direct debit, like most employers probably already use for tax purposes, is the preferred method as it will help them remain compliant by facilitating the collection of contributions on time. This should all only take about 10 minutes.

Once employers have done this, they will also need to inform employees who have been enrolled of their enrolment date which can be done using supports on the portal.

A suite of employer focussed communications and supports will be made available in the coming weeks. It will include ads, guides and webinars to make all of this as simple as possible.

Commenting today, Minister Calleary said: “I am delighted today to formally establish NAERSA - the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority.

"This is a key milestone ahead of the introduction of MyFutureFund on the 1st of January 2026.

"The introduction of MyFutureFund is about ensuring that workers have access to a quality assured retirement savings option, and NAERSA will play a vital role in this landmark policy.

"Importantly, NAERSA will handle most of the administrative work of MyFutureFund, which will ease the burden on employers and payroll providers. There will be little for employers to do and very little administrative cost for them.

"NAERSA will also have an important role in the oversight of MyFutureFund, in particular ensuring that the interests of all stakeholders are considered and protected.

"It will ensure compliance with the scheme by following up where contributions are not collected or are collected and not remitted, up to and including the imposition of sanctions, penalties and prosecutions where necessary.

"Today’s announcement is another key step ahead of the introduction of MyFutureFund, which will be a transformative scheme for this country and will bear great fruit, particularly for younger generations. Ultimately, My Future Fund and the auto-enrolment system is an investment in our country's future.”