Ireland government accuses large employers of dodging pension scheme

An internal government memo has accused several large companies of attempting to circumvent the upcoming MyFutureFund auto-enrolment pension system. According to the document, these employers worked with financial advisers to implement private pension schemes that offer significantly lower benefits than the state-mandated plan.

The memo notes that some employees were “being compelled” to join these new schemes, even when their contracts did not require pension membership, potentially constituting a breach of employment law. These private schemes reportedly offer only a 1% employer contribution with no planned increases, which the document describes as a “nominal” amount unlikely to provide adequate pension benefits.

In contrast, the MyFutureFund system is designed to start with a 1.5% employer contribution, a 1.5% employee contribution, and a 0.5% state top-up, with total combined contributions scheduled to rise to 14% by 2035. The government suggests these companies planned these moves at the last minute to avoid consultation and took advantage of the scheme's postponement to January 2026.