In March of this year, the Cabinet approved the introduction of a plan to make it mandatory for employees between the ages of 23 and 60 to enrol in a pension scheme if earning more than €20,000 per year. It is expected that contributions will begin to be paid from January 2024.
Contribution Rates
In 2024, employees will be required to contribute 1.5% of their salary to a pension fund, this will increase every three years by 1.5% until reaching 6% of salary in 2034.
Employer Contributions
Employers will be required to match employee contributions up to a maximum of €80,000 of earnings and will also be required to facilitate payroll deductions for the contributions.
State Contributions
In addition to employer contributions, the State will also top up contributions by €1 for every €3 contributed by the employee, up to a maximum of €80,000 of earnings.
Opting Out
Employees will be able to opt-out of the scheme for up to two years once they have contributed for six months. After two years of opting out employees will automatically be re-enrolled into the scheme. After another six months, employees can choose to opt out again.
Choice of Pension Fund
Employees will have a range of four retirement savings funds to choose from. Three of the funds will have differing risk/return profiles. People who do not express a preference for any fund will be enrolled into the fourth default fund.