1-in-4 businesses yet to take action to prepare for pension auto-enrolment
One-in-four businesses in Ireland have yet to take any action to prepare for the introduction of pension auto-enrolment ahead of its launch on 1 January 2026, according to a new survey.
The research from professional services firm Aon found that only 7% of organisations have fully updated their internal systems and legal documents ahead of the launch, while just 4% have reached the stage of communicating to employees around the implementation of auto-enrolment.
In May this year, Aon conducted an analysis of 202 client occupational pension schemes to assess organisational preparedness for auto-enrolment and the steps being taken in response.
The pension auto-enrolment scheme is called “My Future Fund” and is designed to help over 800,000 workers to begin saving for their retirement.
All employees not already in an occupational pension scheme, aged between 23 and 60 and earning over €20,000 across all of their employments, will be automatically enrolled in the new scheme.
The research from Aon shows that 85% of organisations in Ireland have concerns about the introduction of pension auto-enrolment, with the additional costs the main worry for more than half of respondents.
According to the study, 59% of surveyed organisations have developed a strategic roadmap for pension auto-enrolment, while 62% are planning to enrol applicable employees in an existing pension scheme.
This can help to avoid the complexity of running both an occupational scheme and the auto-enrolment scheme in parallel.
“It’s clear from our analysis that organisations in Ireland are largely making positive progress on their auto-enrolment journey and look set to reap the rewards in the coming months,” said Caroline Rowan, Head of Retirement Consulting at Aon Ireland.
“However, it is concerning to see a sizable minority of businesses yet to take any action to prepare for the scheme,” she said.
“Given the major transformation required across payroll, people and processes, these businesses will need to urgently accelerate their preparations over the coming months,” Ms Rowan said.
Article Source – 1-in-4 businesses yet to take action to prepare for pension auto-enrolment