Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 January 2026
433. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection the analysis which underpins public comparisons between the headline annual management charge of the auto-enrolment scheme and the charges applicable to individual private pension products; and whether such comparisons include regulatory, governance, and administrative costs borne by the State. [5405/26]
View answer434. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection whether he is satisfied that public commentary comparing auto-enrolment charges with private PRSAs reflects a like-for-like comparison of total costs; and if not, the steps which are being taken to ensure accuracy and transparency in public communications. [5406/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 433 and 434 together.
The Programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce the Automatic Enrolment (AE) Retirement Savings System. The aim of introducing AE is to address the pension coverage gap that exists in Ireland and to provide workers with access to a quality assured retirement savings scheme, thereby giving greater comfort and security regarding their retirement income.
The new system - known as My Future Fund - commenced on the 1 January 2026. Over 763,000 employees that weren't actively contributing to a qualifying pension or PRSA through payroll were eligible and were automatically enrolled in My Future Fund.
The charges that are applied to participants in My Future Fund consist of an administration fee charged on contributions and an investment management fee based on a percentage charge on assets under management. These charges will meet all regulatory, governance, and administrative costs for the operation of My Future Fund without subvention from the State.
The administration fee will take the form of a flat weekly fee of 55 cents on contributions rather than a 'commission' based on a percentage of funds under management. In this way the administration fee will reflect the actual costs of administration (which do not vary with fund size), will be same for all participants regardless of their income or the size of their retirement fund, and will, ultimately, prove much better value for money for the participant over the course of a standard retirement planning horizon. With regard to the fee for the investment management services, these services have been procured through a competitive procurement process and will average at just under 0.04% of assets under management.
With regard to public commentary on the the costs in My Future Fund, I have noted that over the typical life of a retirement saving plan for an average-income employee, the combined administration and investment management fees in My Future Fund are less than the 0.5% target set by the Government in its Strawman proposal. They are also less than the rate of 1% of assets and 3% – 5% of contributions which is the norm for many personal retirement saving schemes and which is evidenced in the prospectuses of such schemes. Commentary by other interest groups on the costs of retirement savings schemes is a matter for those groups rather than for my Department.
I hope this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
