04/12/2025
Insights Blog

As the 1 January 2026 implementation date for pensions automatic enrolment is fast approaching, the Government is continuing to engage with employers and the pensions industry with information about My Future Fund. Registration is now open for the My Future Fund portal, which is the online system via which employers will interact with My Future Fund.

What employers need to do:

  • Register on the portal and complete your employer profile by 31 December 2025.
  • Once registered, set up a payment method.
  • Expect notifications and communications from the National Auto-Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (“NAERSA“) via the portal.

Please note that even employers who have been preparing for auto-enrolment and believe all employees are in “exempt employment” are strongly advised to register on the portal. This is to ensure that employers are in a position to respond to communications from NAERSA in a timely manner, making registration a practical necessity.

An upcoming change to “exempt employment” requirements

The Government has indicated that it intends to introduce regulations setting minimum standards for existing occupational pension schemes and personal retirement savings accounts (“PRSAs”) in order for their members to qualify as being in “exempt employment” under auto-enrolment legislation. In particular we would note that:

  • If the contribution structure under the scheme or PRSA does not meet these standards, employers may need to consider amending their arrangements to meet the new minimum standards to ensure employees remain in exempt employment or alternatively may be required to enrol those employees into My Future Fund.
  • Details of these minimum standards and timing of the regulations are not yet available, but we will keep you updated as and when they are published.
  • As there is uncertainty at the moment in relation to what will be contained in the regulations, we are generally advising our clients to adopt a “wait and see” approach until the detail of the regulations is known.

For further information, please contact your usual pensions team contact or visit our Pensions and Employee Benefits Group website page.