Minister Calleary launches major national campaign to raise awareness of ‘My Future Fund’ - the new Auto Enrolment Retirement Savings System

• awareness campaign to highlight new retirement savings system, to be known as ‘My Future Fund’
• 'My Future Fund will help hundreds of thousands of workers save for their futures with the support of their employers and the State
• collection of My Future Fund contributions to commence on 1 January 2026
• ‘you pay in, your employer pays in, and the State tops it up’

The Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary has today launched a major national awareness campaign for the new Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System, now called ‘My Future Fund’.

The rollout of My Future Fund in Ireland is well underway, with the lead up to the January 2026 launch involving targeted communication and intense engagement with key stakeholders such as employers.

The multimedia advertising campaign will further inform people about how the new system will work, who can participate, and what it will mean for them.

Announcing the launch of the awareness campaign, Minister Calleary said:

“I believe that My Future Fund will transform how people save for their retirement. This landmark policy will help hundreds of thousands of hardworking people in Ireland put money aside for their life after work.

“Auto Enrolment has been talked about for decades. I am delighted that this is finally happening. My Future Fund will mean that two-out-of-three private sector employees who currently have no supplementary pension will get to enjoy a greater sense of wellbeing and financial freedom in the future."

My Future Fund is a landmark reform that will see employers match the amounts saved by their employees. The State will then top-up each participant’s savings pot by €1 for every €3 they contribute. Investment of those savings will likely see participants’ funds grow further.

To help answer any questions employees, employers or other stakeholders may have, the campaign is supported by a range of information resources on a dedicated online hub alongside informational videos on YouTube (Auto-enrolment explained - YouTube). Webinars are hosted by departmental officials on an ongoing basis and have already been attended by over 10,000 employers, HR professionals, financial advisors and payroll providers.

Minister Calleary concluded:

“An important message we want to get across to employers is that My Future Fund has been specifically designed to keep employer administration to a minimum. A new body, the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA) will handle the bulk of this work. That includes identifying and enrolling eligible employees, managing opt-ins, opt-outs and suspensions, calculating contributions, and notifying employers of amounts due through payroll. All employers will have to do is engage with NAERSA when it is up and running and transfer, through their payroll provider, the contributions owed on behalf of their employees. NAERSA will do the rest.”

Key features of the My Future Fund scheme

1) Phased Implementation

All employees not already in an occupational pension scheme or similar supplementary pension arrangement, aged between 23 and 60, and earning over €20,000 across all of their employments, will be automatically enrolled.

With the first enrolments set to happen at the beginning of next year, the introduction of My Future Fund will be gradually phased in over a decade, with both employer and employee contributions starting at 1.5%, and increasing every three years by 1.5% until they eventually reach 6% by Year 10 (2035). This steady phasing allows time for both employers and employees to adjust to the new system.

2) Saving Supports

Matching contributions will be made by employers to those contributions made by employees.

The State will also top up contributions by €1 for every €3 saved by the employee.

This means that for every €3 saved by an employee, a total of €7 will be contributed to their pension pot before it is invested.

These employer and State contributions will incentivise people to stay in My Future Fund and will reduce the cost to individuals of saving for retirement.

Contributions will cease from the next payroll after an employee’s total gross earnings exceed €80,000 in any given year and will recommence the following year.

3) Choice

The system will be voluntary but will operate on an ‘opt-out’ rather than an ‘opt-in’ basis.

Eligible employees will be automatically enrolled/‘opted-in’ but will have the choice after six months’ participation to opt-out or suspend participation for a maximum of two years before being re-enrolled.

Employees will have a range of three retirement savings strategies with different risk/return profiles to choose from.

Where employees do not exercise choice, a default strategy based on what is known as a ‘life-style’/’life-cycle’ investment profile will be provided where participants’ investments are gradually ‘de-risked’ the closer they are to retirement.

4) Simplicity

Administrative costs and burdens are to be kept to an absolute minimum for both employers and employees through the establishment of NAERSA to administer the system.

Employers will not have to invest in the establishment or procurement of an occupational scheme for their own business. They will simply be required to facilitate payroll deductions and transfer the applicable contribution amount.

Importantly, people moving between jobs will not have to change pension scheme or join a new scheme. They will remain members of the My Future Fund on a ‘pot-follows-the-member’ basis. In addition, people with multiple employments will have their pension savings consolidated into one account.

Services will be provided and supported through an easy-to-use online channel where participants will see their savings pots grow quickly and substantively.