From 1st January 2026 workers in Ireland without a pension will join the new auto-enrolment scheme, which was initially due to be rolled out in 2025, however successive delays have pushed the start date to next year.

Auto-enrolment is a new scheme designed to increase retirement savings among Irish workers. The goal is to ensure that all employees have access to a pension, particularly those who are not already enrolled in a workplace scheme. Under the scheme, the employee, employer, and Government all pay a certain amount into the employee’s pension fund.

The scheme aims to ensure that workers will not have to rely on the state pension alone. Supplementary pension coverage in Ireland is low, especially in the private sector where two thirds of workers are not paying into a pension scheme.

Fórsa national secretary and Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) vice-president, Katie Morgan, said: “The move to auto-enrolment represents one of the most significant shifts in how workers in Ireland will prepare for retirement. For workers who are not already in an occupational pension scheme, this will mean automatic enrolment into a new national retirement savings system. This is a safety-net measure for certain workers who cannot access their occupational pension scheme, or who are working for an employer who does not have a pension scheme in place."

This week, ICTU warned workers who have recently been enrolled in occupational pension schemes by their employer that they should ensure the contributions being made are not lesser than what they would benefit from as part of auto-enrolment.

In a statement released on Monday 17th November, ICTU general secretary Owen Reidy underlined that the integrity of pension auto-enrolment must be protected, and welcomed the news that the Minister for Social Protection intends to sign secondary legislation into law that will set minimum standards of employer contributions into existing occupational pensions. This will ensure that employees exempt from auto-enrolment are not short changed.

He said it was “urgent and necessary” to make sure that employers were stopped from making token contributions to occupational pension schemes before 1st January 2026 which would effectively block workers from the benefits of auto-enrolment.

He said: “New regulations will mean a token employer pension contribution will no longer satisfy the requirements of the Act, cutting off this avenue for those employers looking to violate the spirit of the law.”
 
To ensure our members are informed and prepared for these changes, Fórsa is hosting an exclusive member-focused event on the upcoming auto-enrolment pension system which will take place on Tuesday 9th December in Nerney’s Court and online.

Members can register their interest to attend here: Navigating Auto-enrolment with Fórsa.

Chaired by ICTU's head of social policy & employment affairs, Dr Laura Bambrick, this event will provide an essential briefing, expert insights, and a space to ask questions.

Quick Guide

Fórsa previously put together a short guide on the auto-enrolment pension system, developed by asking officials from the Department of Social Protection to explain what auto-enrolment pensions would mean for workers and answer questions on more specific circumstances. You can find our simple explainer here. 

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