With My Future Fund, the new national Auto-enrolment (AE) scheme, launching on 1 January 2026, the next few months are crucial. AE is undoubtedly a hugely positive initiative; there are too many people in Ireland without a supplementary private pension. It’s estimated that upwards of 800,000* people are eligible to be included in the new AE scheme and will find themselves ‘auto-enrolled’ into My Future Fund in early January, thus taking their first step towards a better retirement.   But a question needs to be asked of this large cohort of people – how many would be better off joining a traditional pension scheme as opposed to sleepwalking into My Future Fund?

As a Financial Broker, this is something that you need to be asking all employers (and their employees) that you have a working relationship with. When you look at the criteria for My Future Fund, you can quickly see that it may not meet every pension need. In particular, for higher rate taxpayers, the tax relief on offer (40%) from traditional pension arrangements is significantly higher than the basis under My Future Fund.  At Zurich, we encourage any higher-rate taxpayer who has the option to join their current employer arrangement to seek advice now, rather than waiting to be automatically enrolled in My Future Fund.

Increase the membership of existing schemes

Here at Zurich, we manage pension schemes for thousands of Irish employers**. However, when we analyse the membership of these schemes it becomes evident that not all employees within a business will have joined the scheme. Of course, this won’t be news to Financial Brokers – many have tried to encourage 100% membership but due to inertia, lack of understanding, or simply procrastination on behalf of the employee, typical scheme membership may only get to 50%. But now, from January 2026, those employees that have not joined their employer scheme will find themselves in My Future Fund. For some this will be fine, but for many, this may be the wake-up call that they needed to finally ‘sort out their pension!’

This is why the next six months are vital – it is a timed opportunity for you to fully engage with any pension schemes that you manage. We know that employers and employees will need advice about what is best for their own circumstances, and it is Financial Brokers that are ideally placed to provide this advice. Zurich gives you the tools to explain Auto-enrolment clearly and highlight the best fit for businesses. Employers can use AE as a starting point for educational campaigns on the benefits of saving for retirement.

Seize the opportunity

Zurich and Brokers Ireland have teamed up to reward Financial Brokers who increase membership of their existing Zurich pension schemes ahead of Auto-enrolment. Many people who aren’t contributing to a private pension are eligible to join their employer’s pension scheme. We want to reward Financial Brokers who specifically target their existing Zurich pension schemes to encourage increased membership. To help support this increased activity, Zurich is offering bonus incentives for new schemes and for additional members joining our existing pension schemes.  To find out more, visit the Campaign section of zurichbroker.ie or speak to your Broker Consultant. Employee engagement is key – it is essential that all employees fully understand the benefits offered by their employer, enabling them to make informed decisions about their future financial well-being.

Tools and resources

We have been running a series of AE webinars, highlighting the importance of engaging with employers now. The most recent one was held on 2nd July. If you missed it, or would like to listen back, please visit the Webinars section of zurichbroker.ie. The webinar also included demonstrations of our DC Employer and Advisor Portal. It provides employers with all the information they need to manage pension schemes at scheme and member level, and instant access to key services including payroll, pre-renewals, member updates, and adding new members. Using the portal to add a new member to an existing Zurich group scheme is easy and is completed online from start to finish. With no member ‘signatures’ required, it’s fast, straightforward, and once the application is submitted, the member will get their new policy number straight away. Employers can also use the portal to understand employee demographics – for example the number of employees who have not joined the workplace pension plan or identify the higher earning employees who may not realise the advantages of a workplace pension over Auto-enrolment.

We have plenty of material to help you to engage with employers – webinars, articles, sales aids and sample email templates for employers and employees. Now is the time to be engaging with your corporate and  SME  (small and medium sized enterprises) customers. The introduction of AE will impact every business in Ireland, so ensuring that people are well prepared is paramount. Please get in touch with your Zurich Broker Consultant to discuss how we can help.

*Source: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-social-protection/press-releases/minister-humphreys-announces-the-publication-of-landmark-legislation-for-the-automatic-enrolment-retirement-savings-system.

**Source : Zurich Life, June 2025

Zurich Life Assurance plc is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.