Auto-enrolment Calculator

Ireland’s auto-enrolment pension (branded My Future Fund) is a new retirement savings system that automatically brings eligible employees into a workplace-style pension, with contributions from the employee, the employer, and the State.

Auto-enrolment begins on 1 January 2026.

You’ll be automatically enrolled if you:

• are aged 23 to 60
• earn more than €20,000 per year
• are not currently paying into a work/private pension through payroll

People outside the age/earnings limits can generally opt in (if not already in a pension through payroll).

Contributions are phased in over 10 years (based on gross pay):

• Years 1–3: Employee 1.5% | Employer 1.5% | State 0.5%
• Years 4–6: Employee 3% | Employer 3% | State 1%
• Years 7–9: Employee 4.5% | Employer 4.5% | State 1.5%
• Year 10+: Employee 6% | Employer 6% | State 2%

Instead of pension tax relief on your own contributions, the State provides a top-up of €1 for every €3 you contribute (often described as equivalent to 25% tax relief).

Yes. Contributions are calculated on gross pay, but no contributions are levied on gross pay over €80,000 (and the €80,000 threshold is applied on a calendar-year basis).

Yes. It’s not fully mandatory:

• There’s a 6-month mandatory participation period
• You can opt out in months 7 and 8 after enrolment
• If you opt out in that window, your contributions are refunded (employer + State amounts generally stay in your pot for retirement)
  If you opt out and still qualify, you’ll be automatically re-enrolled after two years.

Yes. You can suspend contributions at any time after the initial 6-month mandatory period, typically for 1–2 years (no refund—your pot stays invested). If you suspend and remain eligible, you may be re-enrolled after up to two years.

• If you (or your employer) are already making pension contributions through payroll, that employment is generally exempt from auto-enrolment.
• If you have a private pension outside payroll, NAERSA may not be able to “see” it - so you could still be auto-enrolled and would need to decide what’s best for you.
• Employers still have obligations around PRSA access (auto-enrolment doesn’t remove existing PRSA access rules).

Employers will need to facilitate My Future Fund through payroll, including:

• Registering company details and setting up a payment method on the employer portal
• Applying payroll notifications and sending contributions to NAERSA
• Informing employees when they are enrolled (welcome letters support this)
• Avoiding any action that hinders participation (penalties can apply)