The Irish Department of Social Protection has confirmed the Auto Enrolment Retirement Savings System will go live on 30 September 2025 and will be known as ‘My Future Fund’.
Heather Humphreys, Ireland’s minister for social protection, has signed the commencement order that will see the first enrolments under the Auto Enrolment Retirement Saving System begin on 30 September 2025.
The minister has also secured government approval for the establishment of the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA) on 31 March 2025. This, the department said, will ensure the board and executive management of NAERSA has six months to oversee the implementation of the various arrangements and systems ahead of the auto-enrolment system going live on 30 September 2025.
The department will now begin work to recruit personnel for both board and staff positions, it noted.
Humphreys said: “Setting a start date a year from now gives all stakeholders involved including employees, their employers, payroll developers and providers, time to make the necessary preparations and adjustments to their systems and their processes to facilitate the implementation of Auto Enrolment and to budget accordingly.”
The new system will be known as “My Future Fund”, the minister added, which she said reflects the purpose of the scheme – to save and invest for the future – while highlighting that these savings will be the personal property of the participants.
Humphreys added that the contract has now been signed with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to act as the managed service provider for the fund.
TCS will provide the administration services to NAERSA. It has previously successfully administered similar schemes in other countries, including the UK where it administers the NEST Auto Enrolment system.
Humphreys continued: “I am pleased to welcome TCS on board as the managed service provider for My Future Fund. TCS has a wealth of relevant experience, having provided similar services in other countries. My officialls and I will be working hard alongside TCS, the Revenue Commissioners and payroll software developers to make sure that My Future Fund is delivered on time and to the highest standard.”
The department will now commence a “major” communications campaign to inform people of the new system and what it will mean for them. This campaign, it said, will continue over the coming months and will cover all media channels, including social media, and numerous media formats.
The department added it will “shortly” issue a tender for the procurement of investment managers to manage participants’ funds.
Humphreys concluded: “Auto-enrolment has been talked about for 30 years – in 2025 it will become a reality. This is going to mean 800,000 workers will have an occupational pension on top of their State pension.
“Ultimately it will mean people have more money and more comfort in their retirement – that’s good for the economy, good for businesses and good for our society.”
She noted that auto-enrolment was the “single most significant reform” of Ireland’s pensions landscape since the introduction of the State Pension in 1908. “In decades to come it will be seen as one of the lasting legacies of this government,” she added.
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