Name for Ireland’s new auto-enrolment pension scheme revealed

The name for the new scheme comes after various ideas were kicked around. It was thought Celtic Saver was to be the name for a while.

Part of the success of similar schemes in other countries is attributed to the fact that they have been given "catchy" names.

The Australian auto-enrolment system is called the Super, while the New Zealand version is called Kiwi Saver. The UK system is called Nest.

Contributions to the new My Future Fund scheme will begin on September 30 next year, after Social Protection Minister Heather ­Humphreys signed a commencement order for the pension plan. The scheme will mean that 800,000 workers will be automatically added into a private pension scheme, in addition to their state pension.

Ms Humphreys has also secured government approval for the establishment of the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA). This new state agency will manage the auto-enrolment pension system and will be in place by the end of next March, she said.

This will ensure the board and executive management of NAERSA has six months to oversee the implementation of the various arrangements and systems before the auto-enrolment goes live next September.

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The Department of Social Protection will now begin work to recruit personnel for both board and staff positions, the minister said.

The department said the new name would be easy to remember. My Future Fund reflects the purpose of the scheme – to save and invest for the future – while highlighting that these ­savings will be the personal property of the participants, the department said.

"My Future Fund, the new name for auto-enrolment, will help hundreds of thousands of hard-working people save for their futures with the support of employers and the State," Ms Humphreys added.

"By ensuring people have more money when they retire, we are investing in the future of Ireland and in the people living and working here."

Around a third of workers aged between 20 and 69 are not signed up to a work pension or have a private one, according to a 2023 survey by the Central Statistics Office. Without a change, hundreds of thousands of workers would be reliant solely on their state pension when they retire.

Under the scheme, employees will contribute 1.5pc of their gross salary during their first three years of paying in. That will rise to 3pc from the third year on, 4.5pc from year six on, topping out at 6pc from the 10th year onwards.

Employers who contribute to the new compulsory workplace pension scheme will be entitled to receive tax relief – but employees will not be able to claim relief, according to documents released by the Department of Finance this week.

A contract is due to be signed this week with Tata Consultancy Services to act as the managed service provided for My Future Fund.

Tata has a base in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, employing over 1,400 people. It will provide the administration services to NAERSA, at a cost of under €150m over the next 15 years. The department said Tata is a highly experienced, global ICT solutions company that has successfully administered similar schemes in other countries.