The number of people in Ireland saving into a pension scheme has increased by 17 per cent since last year, research from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has revealed.

It noted the large increase in pension ownership has occurred following the introduction of the auto-enrolment system, MyFutureFund, in Ireland.

By the end of August 2026, there were more than 800,000 members enrolled in MyFutureFund, while over 10,000 people have opted in since the start of January 2026.

Retirement savings of over €550m have been invested on behalf of MyFutureFund participants so far.

Despite the increased participation, confidence in retirement outcomes remained low, with just two in five confident that their pension would provide a good standard of living in retirement.

Furthermore, only one in three were confident that their pension savings would keep pace with inflation.

The research highlighted that significant gender gaps existed in how men and women prepare for and think about retirement.

Nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of women had no retirement arrangements compared to 17 per cent of men, and were less likely to understand how pensions work (49 per cent vs 63 per cent) and more likely to lack confidence in the standard of living they will have in retirement (32 per cent vs 23 per cent).

“Our research shows that consumers avoid reviewing their pension statements and too often are not confident that their pension will allow a good standard of living in retirement,” said CCPC director of financial education and financial literacy ambassador, Gráinne Griffin.

“We are encouraging consumers, particularly women, to review their pension and remind them that they don’t need to do it alone.

“Pension statements can be long, complicated and hard to understand so it’s very easy to just avoid them.

“But you don’t need to become an expert – book a short review with a financial planner or a financial adviser to check that your pension arrangements are suitable for both your current budget and your future hopes and dreams."

Nearly two thirds (63 per cent) of consumers had never had a one-to-one conversation with a financial adviser about retirement.

Among those who had sought advice, 32 per cent did so through their employer.

The research also found a low level of understanding of how pensions work among private pension holders, with 25 per cent reporting limited knowledge and 6 per cent being unaware of any charges being associated with their pension.

"Employers also play a powerful role in their employees financial wellbeing,” Griffin stated.

“For those consumers who have sat down with a financial adviser and discussed their retirement plans, our research shows that they’re most likely to have been connected to that financial adviser by their employer.

“Also, employers that offer to match higher pension contributions make employees much more likely to increase their own level of investment in their pension.”

---