CSO: Low Awareness of My Future Fund Launching January, Affecting 750K

According to CSO data from the third quarter of last year, fewer than one in three workers under 35 were aware of the mandatory workplace pension, My Future Fund, launching in January. Auto-enrolment affects workers aged 23-60 earning over €20,000 who are not already in a workplace pension.

The scheme deducts 1.5 percent of a worker's gross wage, matched by the employer, with the State adding €1 for every €3 contributed by the worker; these figures will rise to 6 percent by 2036. Approximately 750,000 workers were expected to be enrolled, but awareness was low: one in four workers under 25 and one in three between 25 and 35 were aware of the plan. Across all ages, almost six in ten workers without private pension coverage were unaware of auto-enrolment.

Despite low awareness, over three-quarters of those likely to be enrolled said they would likely stay in the scheme. Most without occupational pension cover cited affordability (39 percent) or procrastination (34 percent) as reasons. Just over half of this group expected to rely on the State pension.

Overall, the CSO figures indicate that two-thirds of workers have workplace pension cover, but only a third of self-employed individuals contribute to a scheme. The data does not differentiate between public and private sector workers, where coverage is likely lower than the overall figure.