Ireland pension auto-enrolment: What it means — and how Dayforce helps

Ireland is set to roll out its long-awaited auto-enrolment pension scheme, a change that will impact employers and employees across the country. While the initiative is designed to boost retirement savings, it also brings new compliance requirements and administrative challenges for businesses. In this blog, we’ll break down what auto-enrolment means, the key challenges it creates, and how Dayforce, the AI-powered people platform, is supporting customers to help them strengthen compliance and be better prepared. 

What is “MyFuture Fund” in Ireland? 

The Irish Government is introducing auto-enrolment to help more workers save for retirement in addition to the state pension. Branded MyFuture Fund, Ireland’s state-run auto-enrolment system will be administered by the new National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA), which will determine eligibility, enrol workers, and collect employee, employer, and State top-up contributions. To understand what this means in practice, it’s important to know how employees will be assessed and who will be enrolled.  

How will employees be assessed and who will be enrolled? 

Not everyone will be automatically enrolled — the scheme is designed to cover employees who need it most. 

To qualify, employees must: 
 

• be aged between 23 and 60 
• earn €20,000 or more per year across all employments 
• not already have a supplementary pension in place 

The National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA) will handle the eligibility checks using Revenue payroll data, with a lookback period of up to 13 weeks. Employers shouldn’t need to do anything — NAERSA will identify and enrol eligible employees directly into the MyFuture Fund. 

If an employee (or their employer) is already contributing to another pension — such as an occupational pension, personal retirement savings account (PRSA), or additional voluntary contribution (AVC) which is recorded in payroll— that employee will be exempt from auto-enrolment. 

Why auto-enrolment matters for employers 

For organisations, the scheme is more than just a retirement benefit — it’s a legal obligation. The legislation includes clear compliance and enforcement provisions designed to help ensure employers meet their auto-enrolment responsibilities, from accurate payroll deductions to timely contribution payments. Failure to comply with the law’s requirements could lead to penalties, reputational damage, and unnecessary risk. 

At the same time, auto-enrolment can help simplify pension administration by removing the need to set up and manage a separate company pension scheme — a particular advantage for small and medium-sized businesses. Plus, employer contributions made under the scheme will be deductible for corporation tax purposes, helping employers fulfil compliance requirements and potentially save on tax at the same time. 

Key challenges organisations will face 

While the scheme brings benefits, it also introduces complexity for employers. Key challenges include: 
 

• Determining employee eligibility 
• Adjusting payroll processes for accurate deductions 
• Keeping up with evolving legislative requirements 
• Communicating changes effectively to the workforce 

How Dayforce supports Ireland auto-enrolment 

It can be easy to feel overwhelmed with all the new obligations employers will be facing — from tracking eligibility to payroll accuracy. But the Dayforce platform helps simplify this with: 
 

• Eligibility tracking — storing and managing employee assessment results from NAERSA for more accurate enrolment records 

• Smooth NAERSA integration — streamlining submission at payroll commit and helping you better ensure accurate contribution calculations and deductions 

• Submission visibility and reconciliation — providing a consolidated view of submissions, confirmations, and reconciliation to help support compliance 

• Clear contribution insights — helping employees stay informed through visible pension details on their payslips 

• Future-ready design — flexibility to adapt as new rules and updates are introduced 

Looking ahead 

Auto-enrolment is just the beginning of a broader push toward greater employee financial wellbeing. Employers who prepare early, with the right tools in place, will not only help reduce compliance headaches but also strengthen their employee value proposition in a competitive talent market. 

Auto-enrolment is expected to transform how pensions are managed in Ireland — and employers need to be ready. By leveraging the Dayforce platform, organisations can help strengthen compliance support, reduce manual workload, and deliver a better employee experience. 

 
See how Dayforce helps organisations navigate Ireland’s pension auto-enrolment with confidence — get in touch today.