Get ready for auto-enrolment

How auto-enrolment works in Sage 50 Payroll Ireland.

Understand auto-enrolment

Auto-enrolment makes saving for retirement simple. Employees aged 23 to 60 who earn €20,000 or more join automatically if they don’t already pay into a pension. The National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA) manages the scheme through My Future Fund.

• Auto-enrolment - The basics

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Check you're up to date

The Sage 50 Payroll Ireland update is available to download and install now. You can use it to:

1. Install the update, which adds the new auto-enrolment features.
2. Complete the tax year as usual.
3. Get ready for the new tax year: Open your 2026 company so you're ready to retrieve automatic-enrolment payroll notifications AEPNs.
4. If you already have a scheme, check you've set up your pensions correctly.

   If you already have a pension scheme

   If you already run a scheme, check you've set it up as a pension scheme in Sage 50 Payroll Ireland. If you don't set up your scheme correctly, NAERSA won’t recognise it and enrol those employees. This means you and your employees pay into both schemes. Having a company pension scheme doesn't always exempt employees from auto-enrolment. The pension scheme needs to meet the government’s exemption standards and appear in payroll submissions to Revenue. Sage 50 Payroll Ireland reports pension deductions, but NAERSA decides whether an employee qualifies for an exemption. Exemption from auto-enrolment

   If you don’t have a pension scheme

   If you don’t run a pension scheme, you don’t need to set anything up. NAERSA enrols your eligible employees into My Future Fund for you, and Sage 50 Payroll Ireland processes the contributions automatically.

Once you’ve done that, you’re all set for 2026. When you move into the 2026 tax year, Sage 50 Payroll Ireland sets up the auto-enrolment deduction automatically. You don’t need to create it in your 2025 payroll.

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Set up your payment method with NAERSA

You need to add your Direct Debit details in NAERSA’s Online Employer Portal so they can collect contributions.

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Run payroll with auto-enrolment

Keep doing exactly what you've been doing you’ll just add two quick steps to your normal payroll routine:

1. Retrieve AEPNs, just like RPNs.
2. Sage 50 Payroll Ireland automatically calculates the employee, employer, and State contribution amounts.
3. Run payroll as normal, contributions appear on payslips.
4. Send your auto-enrolment submission along with your usual payroll submissions.

That's it, that's your part done.

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NAERSA handles the rest

NAERSA collects contributions automatically through your chosen payment method and processes opt-outs and suspensions. Sage 50 Payroll Ireland always follows the latest AEPN.

• The State handles the administration
• Sage 50 Payroll Ireland applies the rules automatically
• You keep running payroll the same way, with two extra steps

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Bespoke auto-enrolment pension training

We fully support the auto-enrolment changes in our Payroll solutions, including employee enrolment, contributions, and compliance. To help you prepare, we offer bespoke training covering:

• Understanding the legislation and getting prepared
• Guide through implementation with hands-on, product-specific sessions

Want training tailored to your needs? Leave your details, and we’ll get in touch.