Gary Gannon
Question:64. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Social Protection the work that remains in the process of introducing the auto-enrolment pension scheme. [7893/24]
View answerTuesday, 20 February 2024
Questions (64)
Written answers
The introduction of an auto-enrolment retirement savings system is a Programme for Government commitment, and a key priority for me as Minister for Social Protection.
Last year, I published 'The Design Principles for Ireland’s Automatic Enrolment (AE) Retirement Savings System', which sets out the new system in detail. Under AE, employees will have access to a savings scheme, co-funded by their employer and the State. For every €3 a worker pays into it, they'll have another €4 credited to their account. These contributions will then be invested, with members holding their own individual retirement savings accounts that they can drawdown when they retire.
Implementation of the AE system has been gathering pace, with the intention to commence the scheme towards the end of this year.
The legislation to underpin AE is currently being drafted, with my officials working with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel. It is my intention to publish the AE Bill in the coming weeks with initiation of its passage through the Oireachtas immediately thereafter. This will be a major milestone in progressing towards implementation.
A procurement exercise for a Managed Service for the Provision and Operation of the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Scheme is well advanced with an RFT now published for prospective service providers to respond to by the 15th of March. A procurement exercise for outsourced investment management services is also at an advanced stage of development and will commence in the coming months.
In parallel, discussions with the Revenue Commissioners regarding data exchanges to facilitate the identification of eligible participants have progressed and my officials are engaged in ongoing discussions with the Payroll Software Developers Association regarding AE.
A three-phase multichannel communications strategy has been developed incorporating an awareness phase, an information phase, and a launch phase. This will be timed with major milestones of the project such as the introduction of the legislation in the Houses for the first phase and the imminent commencement of roll-out for the third phase.
While there remains much to be done in this ambitious project, considerable progress is being made on multiple workstreams.
I hope that this clarifies matters for the Deputy.
Question No. 65 answered with Question No. 58.