Auto-enrolment

An auto-enrolment pension is a new mandatory retirement savings system for eligible employees in Ireland. Employees, employers, and the government all contribute towards a retirement fund with the aim of creating a culture of saving for retirement in Ireland. Click here for a full overview of auto-enrolment.

Auto-enrolment began in Ireland on 1 January, 2026. 

Before 2026, over 800,000 workers in Ireland lacked pension coverage and would be reliant on the state pension in retirement. Auto-enrolment aims to provide workers with retirement savings in addition to the state pension, ensuring they are more financially prepared for retirement.

Any employees (not self-employed) who are aged between 23-60 and earn over €20,000 per year are auto-enrolled if they are not already paying into a pension scheme via payroll deductions. All employers in Ireland are also affected, as they need to ensure compliance with auto-enrolment.

Contribution rates are phased in over 10 years. For the first three years, employees will contribute 1.5% of their gross salary to their retirement savings. This will increase to 3%, then 4.5%, and then 6% from the tenth year. Employers must match employee contributions, and the government will contribute an additional one-third of the employee's contribution as well.