Almost 5,000 people have opted out of the pension auto-enrolment system since a two-month window to leave the scheme opened on 1 July.
More than 800,000 people, including 9,000 who voluntarily opted in, have been enrolled in the ‘My Future Fund’ pension scheme since the start of the year and have saved over €400 million.
The administrator of the fund, the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority, said there has been a lower-than-expected number of opt out requests to date.
It added that no participants are considered to be “opted out” until after their two-day cooling off period concludes.
“4,997 participants have opted out, with 2,404 of those submitting their request in the first 24 hours,” a NAERSA spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added: “A further 1,583 participants are in their cooling off period at present.
“There has been a marked decrease in requests in day two and individuals have the option to cancel their opt out at any stage until their cooling off period terminates.”
For every €3 an employee contributes to My Future Fund, the employer matches with €3, and the State adds €1 representing a €7 increase in the participants retirement savings.
NAERSA said it is encouraging participants to carefully consider the decision to opt out.
“By opting out, employees will forgo contributions from their employer, currently 1.5% of gross pay, and the State top‑up, which together significantly increases the value of each euro saved over time,” the authority said.
A participant that opts out can choose a date in the next 24 months to re-enrol or they can opt to be automatically re‑enrolled after two years, if still eligible.
The pensions spokesperson for the Irish Congress of Trade Unions said the opt out rate is only at around half of 1% of participants.
“It was always going to be the case that some workers will opt out,” Dr Laura Bambrick said.
“For those who face the challenge of balancing the books today it’s a big ask to save for the future,” she added.
Dr Bambrick said that others “will be moving from My Future Fund into a company pension”.
