The Irish government has appointed Dermot Griffin as the first chief executive and Roma Burke as the inaugural chair of the newly established National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA), marking a key milestone ahead of the launch of My Future Fund in January 2026.

Six additional board members were also confirmed in the Department of Social Protection’s latest announcement.

NAERSA will be responsible for administering Ireland’s long-awaited auto-enrolment (AE) pension system.

Its remit will include determining eligibility, enrolling participants, collecting contributions from employees, employers and the state, managing both default and alternative investment strategies, and ensuring that members retain a single pension pot throughout their working lives under a “pot-follows-member” model.

The authority will also oversee employer and employee portals and facilitate the redemption of savings at the state pension age of 66, with employers expected to face only minimal administrative burdens.

Griffin will bring extensive leadership experience to the role, having served as National Lottery chief executive between 2005 and 2019, followed by positions at CUSOP Payments and as a non-executive director of the Irish Aviation Authority.

He said he was “delighted to join NAERSA as CEO,” describing My Future Fund as "a great government initiative providing an important retirement saving service to a huge group of people currently without pension arrangements.”

Griffin pledged to support employers through the rollout by ensuring NAERSA takes on the bulk of administrative responsibility, while stressing that “compliance will be a key area of my focus”

Meanwhile, Burke, an experienced actuary with leadership roles in the Pensions Council and Pensions Commission, stated she was “delighted to be the first chair of the board of NAERSA,” while also acknowledging the weight of responsibility that comes with being the inaugural chair.

She emphasised her commitment to protecting the interests of participants and said that being involved in such a “hugely important” initiative gave her “a great sense of pride”.

Minister for Social Protection, Dara Calleary, welcomed the appointments, stating that the new leadership team brought together the expertise required to ensure NAERSA delivered on its goals.

He also highlighted the broader significance of NAERSA, saying that it would play a “vital” role in a landmark policy.

“The introduction of My Future Fund is about ensuring that employees have access to a quality-assured retirement savings option.

"In time, it will not just benefit employees but will also be a boon to the economy as more people will have more money to spend in retirement,” he added.

The announcement follows earlier milestones for the scheme, including the selection of investment managers Irish Life Investment Managers, Amundi and BlackRock, as well as the decision to locate key operations in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal.

NAERSA’s chief executive and staff will be based in Donegal, while board meetings will alternate between Dublin and Donegal, reflecting both strategic and practical considerations, given that the scheme contractor, Tata Consultancy Services, also operates in Letterkenny.

However, concerns over preparedness for the introduction of AE persist, with a quarter (25 per cent) of Irish businesses yet to take action to prepare for the launch of auto-enrolment in January 2026, as many remain concerned about the additional costs the initiative will incur.

With this in mind, the Irish government launched a major national campaign designed to raise awareness of the new retirement savings system last month.

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