Calleary wants AE to be ‘as familiar as PRSI’
The Minister for Social Protection has said that he wants the auto-enrolment pension system to be “as familiar as PRSI” in ten years’ time.
Dara Calleary was speaking at a webinar hosted by business-law firm Mason Hayes & Curran (MHC) earlier this week.
The minister urged employers to complete their preparations for the scheme, which goes live on 1 January.
The State’s new retirement savings system, known as My Future Fund, will automatically enrol over 800,000 workers from January.
‘Heavy lifting’
“We are the last OECD country to do this, and we have to be ready,” Minister Calleary told the webinar, which was attended by 350 people.
He said that employers would be able to register on the My Future Fund portal from 1 December, with payroll integrations designed to minimise administration.
“We’ve learned from systems worldwide to reduce the burden on employers. The National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA) will handle the heavy lifting,” Minister Calleary told the event.
‘Clear obligations’
Stephen Gillick (partner and head of pensions, MHC) described the scheme as “the most significant change to Ireland’s pension landscape in decades”.
He said that employers now had a defined timeframe and a clear set of obligations ahead of the scheme’s introduction.
Gillick urged them to focus on three key actions:
- Register early, by setting up the company profile on the My Future Fund portal once it opens on 1 December,
- Confirm that payroll providers have enabled the My Future Fund deduction and matching contribution features, and
- Communicate with staff to explain how the scheme works.
The Law Society is hosting a webinar on the new system on 17 November (1pm to 1.45pm) to help solicitors to understand their obligations, payroll adjustments, and implications for employment contracts.