Unless you have been off grid for the last number of weeks, it is hard to avoid seeing or hearing the Government adverts regarding their Auto-enrolment (AE) pension scheme called “My Future Fund” due to start 1 January 2026.

As an employer, are you prepared for questions this might bring from your employees?  You may have your own company pension scheme already in place.  If so, this is more than likely better than “My Future Fund.” Do your employees know this? If you haven’t considered your communication strategy for your existing company pension scheme, now is the time to increase awareness and promote it so your employees are left in no doubt that, while the “ice cream image” might look tempting, you already have them covered and are offering financial security for their future.

The complexity of pension schemes can lead to confusion and disengagement among employees. Some tips for effective communication are:

Keep it clear and Concise – Use plain language, avoid jargon and technical terms.

Regular Updates and Reminders – Personalised annual benefit statements in plain English.

Digital Platforms and Tools – Provide Employees with access to information through online portals showing contributions paid, investment performance and providing calculators for retirement planning.

Annual Review Meetings – Educational talks where employees can learn about their pension scheme and ask questions of the providers.  This can include personalised one-to-one meeting with your inhouse pension contact or your external pension provider.

Highlight Benefits and Success Stories – share examples of employees that have retired and benefited from your pension scheme.  Regularly highlight the key benefits of your scheme whenever possible.

Feedback – Listen to your employees and their concerns. If there are issues, highlight them with your pension provider – they are there to help you.

Answering Employee Questions

While your pension provider will provide employees with booklets, annual benefit statements, online tools etc, employees want to be able to ask questions of their employer through their immediate manager, payroll, or HR contact. Do you have the resources to answer their questions?

For example, will your employee be included in this new pension scheme called My Future Fund?  If not, why not?  Will they miss out on the top up?

Let us address some of these AE questions. If an employee or employer is already contributing to your Occupational Pension Scheme (OPS), they will not be Auto Enrolled in My Future Fund.  Instead, they will continue to be a member of the OPS and enjoy the benefits that entails.

If they have their own PRSA and are contributing through the company payroll, they will not be Auto Enrolled. However, if they leave this PRSA, they will be Auto Enrolled.

If they have a PRSA and are contributing directly from their personal bank account, they will be Auto Enrolled.

What about the top up from the state – will this be paid to their OPS?  While the answer is no, this could leave employees thinking they are missing out unless you are also able to explain the tax relief available under your OPS compared to AE. This is particularly important for 40% taxpayers where the advantages of tax relief are substantially better.

The following table can help you communicate some of the advantages of your OPS over AE.

Conclusion

Effective communication about Occupational Pension Schemes is essential for ensuring that employees understand and appreciate the benefits offered. Most importantly, it is about knowing that if you offer your employees access to an Occupational Pension Scheme, you have been and will continue to look after their financial future.

To help employers get a better understanding of the issues involved, CPAS will be holding series of informative webinars in September. To register to attend, email “Webinar” to info@cpas.ie and we will send you links for the upcoming webinars.

For more details, contact Susan O’Mara Business Development Manager, CPAS. Tel 01 223 4949.

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