Auto-Enrolment in Ireland: An Employer Guide

What is auto-enrolment?
29 April 2025 – Auto-enrolment is a new occupational pensions regime that will introduce mandatory retirement savings requirements for the first time in Ireland. It will be introduced from 1 January 2026.
The aim of auto-enrolment is to substantially increase the number of employees who are currently saving for their retirement. The Government has estimated that approximately 800,000 new pension savers will be created.
Auto-enrolment will have significant implications for employers. For many, it will present a major compliance and operational challenge and give rise to material additional business costs.
It is vital that all employers understand the extent to which auto-enrolment might impact them and the immediate and longer-term implications for their business and employees.
How will auto-enrolment work?
A summary of the key features of the new regime are below:
When will auto-enrolment start?
The Cabinet recently approved a short delay to the implementation of the new AE scheme until 1 January 2026. Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary confirmed the commencement date will be moved “to align the new system with the standard tax year” and “to give additional time for payroll providers, especially smaller providers, to ready their systems for the launch and to give additional lead-in time for employers, to ensure they can be compliant with the legislation from the start.”
A delay beyond the planned 30 September start date had been widely anticipated in recent weeks following engagement by the Government with employer groups and payroll service providers who had indicated that they may not be ready in time. These groups had also been advocating for the start date to align with the commencement of the tax year.
The three-month extension is likely to be welcomed by employers, giving them valuable additional time to ensure that all key decisions and implementation actions are completed ahead of 1 January. A common theme emerging from discussions with clients who have begun preparatory work in recent months has been that AE is more complicated than originally anticipated, especially for employers who already provide a pension plan and who are keen to use this to meet AE requirements.
What should employers do now?
All employers need to quickly understand what auto-enrolment will mean for them and their employees. In short, retirement saving for employees will become mandatory, and employers will need to decide how they want to provide retirement benefits to employees.
Our analysis shows that most employers who already provide pension plans or PRSAs to employees want to continue to use these and avoid My Future Fund where possible. But to do this, employees (or employers on their behalf) need to be contributing to the pension plan prior to January 2026. If they are not, employees within the scope of the auto-enrolment requirements will be automatically enrolled into MFF.
For all employers, the challenge is clear: planning and preparation must start now to maximise the time available prior to commencement. Despite appearances, auto-enrolment is not straightforward and will need to be fully understood to minimise complications. Business, employee, and pension plan impacts need to be considered; options assessed and strategic decisions made in sufficient time before auto-enrolment commences.
Engagement with employees is going to be vital to explain the approach their employer is taking and what employees need to do next.
To maximise the time now available before 1 January, priorities for employers are as follows:
- Ensure your strategic decisions have been made well in advance and ideally no later than July giving you sufficient time over the remainder of the year for implementation actions. This includes undertaking any business impact / cost analysis, working through your key decision checklist on how you will implement the AE requirements, and deciding your employee engagement approach.
- Once decisions have been made, you should begin engaging with your key internal and external stakeholders on the implications, including unions (if relevant), service providers (including payroll), pension plan trustees and administrators, insurers and other advisers as appropriate.
- Employee engagement processes – particularly where affected employees are being offered membership of an existing pension plan – should ideally be completed by the end of November at the latest allowing sufficient time to onboard employees into the plan and begin contributions before 1 January. At this stage instructions need to have been provided to your pension plan providers to make any changes that are necessary to the plan to accommodate your AE decisions.