Peadar Tóibín
Ceist:108. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection if his Department is in charge of the actual pension funds and investments regarding the auto-enrolment savings scheme. [6658/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 28 January 2026
Ceisteanna (108, 109, 110)
Peadar Tóibín
Ceist:109. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection if there will be an Ethics Committee within the auto-enrolment savings scheme to ensure that there are no investments made by the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority, the investment management providers or any third party investment fund providers that go against the core values of Ireland (details supplied). [6659/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraPeadar Tóibín
Ceist:110. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Social Protection if he will consider the Bruegel paper conclusion warning against using State pensions and saving funds as surety to further political and economics projects, to confirm that the first duty of the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority and the pensions funds is to protect and grow peoples savings. [6662/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 108, 109 and 110 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 scheme is managed by a new statutory body, the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA), which operates under the aegis of my Department.
My Future Fund operates on a tripartite basis with employees and employers contributing and the State topping up the employee's contribution. The contributions are then invested with the objective of growing the funds. Each participant has their own account of which they are the beneficial owner. Therefore, the funds in My Future Fund are the personal property of each participant and not the State's.
The investment approach and rules for My Future Fund are provided for in Part 4 of the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Act 2024. In line with the legislation, all investments must be made in accordance with the prudent person rule, and in the best long term interests of the participants in the scheme. The legislation also provides for ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) requirements to be factored into the investment strategies. The legislation requires NAERSA to establish an investment committee, which will provide oversight of investment management of the funds and ensure that the ESG legal requirements are met.
Finally, the aim of My Future Fund is to provide a good investment return to participants so that they have an adequate income when they retire. While the NAERSA will take into account a range of concerns around investment practices, its primary function is to facilitate the transfer of contributions to investment managers on behalf of participants. This money is not and will not be seen as an opportunity for the State to benefit in ways other than to help solve the problem of pension coverage and pension adequacy. In that context, NAERSA and investment managers will have a duty to, first and foremost, get a good financial return for participants.
Question No. 109 answered with Question No. 108.
Question No. 110 answered with Question No. 108.
Question No. 111 answered with Question No. 105.
Question No. 112 answered with Question No. 105.