Strong early commitment in new pension scheme, survey shows

Published: Tue 21 Jul 2026, 3:03 PM

Ireland’s auto-enrolment pensions scheme has had a strong early commitment, with at least 8 in 10 people willing to stay in the scheme.

With July being the first opt-out period for the scheme, Ask Acorn commissioned a survey of 1,000 adults across Ireland who are enrolled workers, asking them if they would choose to stay, pause or leave the My Future Fund.

The survey’s responses show that 84% of workers plan on remaining in the scheme, while 14% will pause their contributions. Around 16% of workers who said they would opt out said they would do so to redirect their contributions to a private pension.

Those aged 25-34 have the strongest commitment; 89% of those said they would stay enrolled, with just one in 10 of this age group considering opting out.

Of the 45-54 age group, 23% plan on exiting the scheme entirely, but 13% aim to redirect those savings to private pension contributions.

CEO of Ask Acorn, Keith Butler said: “While it's still early days, these findings point to a strong initial vote of confidence in auto-enrolment and the role it could play in improving long-term financial security. It's particularly encouraging to see such high participation among younger cohorts, who stand to benefit the most from starting early.

“Auto-enrolment has succeeded in getting people engaged with pensions. The next conversation should be about whether people can now afford to do more. Someone who has received a salary increase or bonus since joining the scheme may be in a position to increase their retirement savings beyond the minimum contribution levels.

“For many workers, that could mean complementing auto-enrolment with an additional pension arrangement that better reflects their long-term retirement goals.

Equally, employers who have now embraced workplace pensions through auto-enrolment might consider making higher contributions than the statutory minimum as part of supporting and retaining employees.

“The important thing is that people don't simply see auto-enrolment as the finish line. It should be the starting point for building a retirement plan that's right for them.”