The Irish government will pay €1 for every €3 contributed by an employee in an auto-enrolment (AE) pension scheme, according to a report by the Irish Times.

The paper reported that Social Protection Minister, Heather Humphreys, is to present a memo on the AE system seeking permission from the cabinet to begin the process of drafting legislation this week.

The memo will detail that anyone earning more than €20,000 per annum will be automatically enrolled in an occupational pension scheme. According to the report, employers will have to match employee contributions when the scheme is up and running. However, it is expected this will be done on a graduated basis given the financial impact it will have on employers.

In February, Humphreys said the government intends to launch the scheme by the end of 2023, but there is a “good deal of work” to be done.

The plans for AE were originally announced by the Irish government in 2018 as part of its Roadmap for Pensions 2018-2023. Originally the system was planned to be launched by 2022, with workers automatically enrolled into an occupational pension scheme but with the freedom to opt-out if they wish so.

Faith in the government’s timetable is lacking, however, with a recent survey by Independent Trustee Company finding that more than 90 per cent of advisers in Ireland believe that the rollout of the AE pension reform will be delayed.

A survey of over 100 Irish pension advisers found that of the 94 per cent who do not think auto-enrolment will go ahead in 2023, 56 per cent think it will be pushed back to 2024/25, and 38 per cent think it will never happen. It means just 6 per cent of those surveyed believe that auto-enrolment will be introduced in 2023.

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