Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 22 January 2026
437. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection to provide details of all major contracts awarded in respect of the auto-enrolment scheme to date, including service providers, contract duration, estimated lifetime cost, and performance oversight arrangements. [5409/26]
View answer438. Deputy Michael Murphy asked the Minister for Social Protection whether lifecycle cost modelling was undertaken prior to entering into long-term outsourcing contracts associated with Auto-Enrolment; and if so, whether that modelling will be made available to the Oireachtas. [5410/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 437 and 438 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. To date over 763,000 employees that weren't actively contributing to a qualifying pension or PRSA through payroll have been automatically enrolled in to My Future Fund.
My Department has conducted two procurement processes for the provision of services related to the implementation of My Future Fund. The first procurement process was for a managed service provider to develop and operate the administration of My Future Fund. The contract for these services was ultimately awarded to Tata Consultancy Services. The cost of this contract will be in the region of €100 million to €150 million over 10 to 15 years.
The second procurement process was for investment management services. The contracts for these services were ultimately awarded to Amundi, Blackrock and Irish Life Investment Managers. These contracts will have terms of 7 to 10 years. The costs of these service will be charged by way of a percentage charge of just under 0.04% on assets under management, a fee which represents excellent value for money.
Oversight of each of the contracts and the performance of the providers will be undertaken by the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority, which has been established as a new statutory agency under the aegis of my Department to manage My Future Fund and operate it in the best interests of participants.
In advance of the tendering process for each of these services, my Department conducted extensive market research so as to ensure that the request for tender set out appropriate specifications for the delivery of a managed service provider and investment managers. While each of these procurement processes took into account the potential inflows and outflows of participants, a lifecycle cost model was not required in developing the specifications for these competitions.
I hope this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
