The State’s new mandatory workplace pension scheme will cost the average business €25,000 in additional employee-related costs when it comes into force next year, according to a survey by recruitment firm FRS.
And most of those businesses say they will respond either by raising prices or freezing hiring as the cost of auto-enrolment hits profits.
From January, up to 750,000 Irish workers who are aged between 23 and 60, earning in excess of €20,000 and not yet a member of a workplace pension scheme will be automatically signed up to the State’s My Future Fund.
Initially, a sum equal to 1.5 per cent of the gross pay will be taken from their after tax income. Their employer will pay the same amount with the State adding €1 for every €3 invested by the worker.
READ MORE
Most workers spoken to as part of the survey said, just over a month before it comes into force, they still don’t fully understand how auto-enrolment will work or what it will mean for their financial security.
While most believe they need more advice on the scheme and how it will affect them, 60 per cent expect to stay signed up to My Future Fund, even though just one in four are confident it will improve their financial security in retirement. Seventy-two per cent see the likely cost as affordable or manageable.
[ Employer still in the dark on how to sign staff up for auto-enrolmentOpens in new window ]
“From an employee perspective, our survey shows that most Irish workers are yet to be convinced that auto-enrolment will actually improve their long-term financial security,” FRS Co-op chief executive Colin Donnery said.
Businesses estimated auto-enrolment related costs at between €5,000 and in excess of €100,000, with the average coming in at €25,000 in the first year of the scheme.
How AI is beginning to wreak havoc in the jobs market
Those costs will rise as wages climb and also as the level of contribution to the scheme increases to 3 per cent in 2029, 4.5 per cent in 2032 and 6 per cent from 2035 onwards.
Three-quarters of employers expect the pension-related costs to hit their profits, with one-third expecting that impact to be “significant”. Eight in 10 employers said they are likely either to freeze hiring or increase prices as a result, with the balance opting to cut back on planned investment in their businesses, or training.
“Auto-enrolment represents the most significant shift in Ireland’s pension landscape in a generation,” Mr Donnery said.
“Yet as our survey clearly highlights that many businesses are concerned about the additional cost pressures the scheme will bring, with over three quarters of employers expecting reduced profitability in 2026 as a result of auto-enrolment.”
