Ireland’s Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill has been passed by the Dáil, with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) chosen as the administrator to the scheme.

Following its approval by both houses of the Oireachtas, the legislation will now be sent to the President Michael Higgins to be enacted.

The long-awaited bill paves the way for the creation of an automatic enrolment pension system in Ireland, with 800,000 workers set to be enrolled into the scheme. It aims to increase pension coverage and overall pension adequacy in Ireland.

Ireland is the only OECD country that does not yet operate an auto-enrolment or similar system as a means of promoting pension savings.

The bill also establishes an independent public body, the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA), to administer the system and ensure compliance, under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection.

TCS, a leading global IT services, consulting, and business solutions organisation, has been selected as the preferred bidder to provide this administration as a managed service.

NAERSA will identify and enrol participants, collect and pool contributions, arrange for the investment of contributions, manage participant accounts including opt-outs, suspensions and opt-ins, and facilitate the payment of savings at retirement. The DSP said this will mean employers have minimal administrative work in relation to auto-enrolment.

TCS has been the pensions administration provider for the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) in the UK since 2011. Although distinct in design, NEST is the UK government’s equivalent of the auto-enrolment scheme. It currently services approximately 13 million participants.

TCS has a global delivery centre based in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal, which employs close to 1,400 people and provides a variety of services including pension administration, cyber security, IT support, and customer service.

Commenting at the passing of the bill, Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys, said: “Auto-enrolment is a truly transformative policy that I am proud to deliver for Ireland. It will make sure that hard working men and women across the country will be able to save for their future, with help from their employers and the State. I am delighted that this historic legislation has now passed both Houses of the Oireachtas and look forward to it being enacted shortly.”

Humphreys continued: “I am also pleased that we have concluded the procurement process to source a managed service for the provision and operation of the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Scheme and look forward to engaging with TCS as our preferred bidder for these services.”

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