Tony McCormack (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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98. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if he will report on his Department’s engagement with employers and the SME sector in relation to the introduction of auto-enrolment in 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57552/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce the Automatic Enrolment (AE) Retirement Savings System. The aim of introducing AE is to address the pension coverage gap that exists in Ireland and to provide workers with greater comfort and security regarding their retirement income. The new system - to be known as My Future Fund - will commence from 1 January 2026. The implementation of My Future Fund will pave the way for around 800,000 workers to be brought into a retirement savings scheme for the first time and I look forward to its implementation.

My Department’s engagement with employers and the SME sector in relation to the introduction of 'My Future Fund' is a key element in the communications strategy that has been developed to inform stakeholders of this important initiative. To date, thousands of employers and related professionals in HR and payroll have been directly reached through webinars, conferences and in person stakeholder meetings, most recently at the National Ploughing Championships. The second phase of the communications strategy commenced this summer with the launch of an advertising campaign on multiple media platforms. You may have seen the 'It all adds up' ice-cream advertisement that rolled out as part of this. It is envisaged that further guidance to employers will be provided in the lead up to the scheme's commencement and the form and content of this will be communicated closer to launch.

In addition to these activities, there is a very good, up-to-date information hub available to employers and anyone else who wants to learn more about My Future Fund and how it will work. This is at www.gov.ie/autoenrolment, and it includes links to information videos on the Department of Social Protection's YouTube channel.

Finally, it is important to note that employers will have very little to do to facilitate auto-enrolment being implemented because a new state agency called the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA) has been established to oversee and operate the new system. This includes taking care of all of the administrative processes involved around enrolment, contribution collection, investment, and providing access to accounts and information. Additionally, my Department has worked intensively with payroll providers over the past year to ensure their systems are changed to automate the deduction of contributions to My Future Fund. Accordingly, employers will not have to undertake any of their activities. Employers will simply be asked to register on the My Future Fund portal from the 1st December and provide payment details. Details of how to do this will be made available in a forthcoming advertising campaign over the coming weeks.

I hope this clarifies matters for the Deputy.