The Irish government has committed to introducing minimum contribution rates for occupational pension schemes, ahead of the launch of its state-run auto-enrolment (AE) scheme, which will have a contribution rate of 1.5 per cent for both the employer and employee when it first launches.

It follows concerns raised by the Department for Social Protection (DSP) in October, in which it said it had been made aware that some employers are incorrectly informing staff that, because of a change in legislation, they are now obliged to join an employer-sponsored pension scheme before the end of 2026.

The move has been welcomed by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), which warned that stronger rules are now “urgent and necessary” to protect workers ahead of the rollout of Ireland’s auto-enrolment system in January 2026.

In a letter to ICTU general secretary Owen Reidy, the DSP confirmed that standards are being developed, likely to be set out in regulations, specifying minimum employer contribution levels and other criteria that occupational schemes must meet to qualify as exempt from automatic enrolment.

The government aims to prevent employers from enrolling staff into low-value schemes solely to avoid participation in My Future Fund, the state-run AE system that is set to launch on 1 January 2026.

Reidy said he “welcomed the commitment” and stressed that the changes are needed to ensure workers are not “shortchanged".

“Setting minimum employer contributions for determining whether an employee will be auto-enrolled has become an urgent and necessary move to protect the integrity of auto-enrolment and spare another generation of workers from seeing their income and living standards plummet in retirement,” he added.

The DSP letter, signed by Secretary General, John McKeon, highlighted concerns that some employers are considering enrolling currently uncovered employees into marginal or “token” pension arrangements ahead of 1 January 2026, intending to render them exempt from auto-enrolment.

McKeon noted that “a nominal contribution that is unlikely to yield any material pension benefit” would not meet the test of being at least as favourable as MyFutureFund.

The letter also reiterated that it is an offence under Section 128 of the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Act 2024 (AE Act) for an employer to hinder or attempt to hinder an employee from participating in MyFutureFund.

It warned that cases where employees are pressured or induced to join another pension scheme instead of auto-enrolment “will be fully investigated”.

The DSP further pointed out that the Pensions Act and associated regulations already set specific disclosure requirements for when prospective members are enrolled in an occupational pension scheme, and cautions that enrolling workers without their explicit consent may also raise data protection concerns.

Under the AE Act, it is for the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA), in consultation with the Pensions Authority, to draw up standards - expected to include a minimum contribution rate and other matters - for determining whether an occupational scheme qualifies as an exempt scheme.

These standards must ensure that exempt schemes are at least as favourable to employees as those available through MyFutureFund.

With this in mind, Reidy urged workers who feel pressured to waive their rights or accept inferior pension arrangements to seek union advice.

“Workers coming under pressure from their employer to waive their right to a pension or one that will be at least as favourable as auto-enrolment should contact their trade union for advice,” he argued.

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