Members of the NAERSA board, who were appointed in August, held their inaugural meeting yesterday, which was also attended by the minister for social protection, Dara Calleary, after he signed the commencement order formally establishing the body.

NAERSA will administer the auto-enrolment scheme, MyFutureFund, facilitating people to save and invest for their retirement. It will handle the bulk of the administration of the scheme by determining eligibility for auto-enrolment and enrolling eligible employees.

A communications campaign targeting employers, including ads, guides and webinars, is to be launched in the coming weeks.

In a statement yesterday, Mr Calleary said: “I am delighted today to formally establish NAERSA — the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority.

“This is a key milestone ahead of the introduction of MyFutureFund on the 1st of January 2026.

“The introduction of MyFutureFund is about ensuring that workers have access to a quality assured retirement savings option, and NAERSA will play a vital role in this landmark policy.

“Importantly, NAERSA will handle most of the administrative work of MyFutureFund, which will ease the burden on employers and payroll providers. There will be little for employers to do and very little administrative cost for them.

“NAERSA will also have an important role in the oversight of MyFutureFund, in particular ensuring that the interests of all stakeholders are considered and protected.

“It will ensure compliance with the scheme by following up where contributions are not collected or are collected and not remitted, up to and including the imposition of sanctions, penalties and prosecutions where necessary.

“Today’s announcement is another key step ahead of the introduction of MyFutureFund, which will be a transformative scheme for this country and will bear great fruit, particularly for younger generations.

“Ultimately, MyFutureFund and the auto-enrolment system is an investment in our country’s future.”