Peadar Tóibín
Ceist:107. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection whether a gender impact assessment was undertaken of the auto-enrolment savings scheme; if so, to provide the findings of the study. [6657/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 28 January 2026
Ceisteanna (107)
Freagraí scríofa
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 scheme will be managed by a new statutory body, the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA), which will operate under the aegis of my Department.
A gender impact assessment was undertaken and can be made available to the Deputy. The design of My Future Fund ensures that there will be equality of access to supplementary retirement savings, in particular for those with low to average earnings where pension coverage has traditionally been low. This is particularly relevant to women who have different experiences of employment in terms of employment rates, the prevalence of part-time work and lower earnings. Implementation of My Future Fund will result in hundreds of thousands of women being enrolled in a retirement savings scheme for the first time. It will, therefore, represent a significant step in addressing existing pension coverage gaps in Ireland.
I hope this clarifies matters for the Deputy.