The Irish master trust (MT) market continued to grow in 2024, due to a combination of more employers moving to MT and positive investment returns increasing the levels of MT savings, LCP’s 2025 MT survey has revealed.

It noted that at the end of 2024, approximately €32bn was held in Irish MTs (both retail and corporate), which accounted for around 45 per cent of all Irish defined contribution (DC) pension assets.

This represented a 50 per cent growth in Irish MT assets, following more than 300 per cent growth in 2023.

The report showed that the eight leading MT providers represented €29bn of assets, the majority of the MT market.

While the majority of employers using MT are considered “small”, with average assets of €6m, the survey indicated that around 200 employers had €25m or more in MT pension savings.

“After another strong year of growth, the Irish MT market continues to evolve to meet the needs of employers and members,” LCP said.

“As consolidation continues, this is expected to be a force for further innovation and improvements in member and employer experiences.”

It added that the move to MTs has saved employers “significant costs” compared to running their own single-employer scheme.

“Now that an employer is in an MT, a modest MT oversight budget goes a long way to ensuring that the MT continually delivers on service commitments and that employers and their members continue to benefit from a market-leading service,” LCP concluded.

Meanwhile, the survey also revealed attitudes towards auto-enrolment (AE), the new Irish pension savings scheme for certain employees who are not paying into a pension.

Under AE, they will be automatically included in a central government savings scheme, from which they can opt out after six months.

However, when asked if they expected AE to be implemented by 30 September 2025, two providers said yes, and four said no.

This comes as Irish Minister, Dara Calleary, confirmed the commencement of AE would be delayed to 1 January 2026.

Providers also expressed several concerns around the introduction of AE.

The most commonly cited were the inconsistency of the expected start date, the administrative burden created by AE, and confusion about its rules and practical aspects.

“Further clarity is needed on AE,” the report claimed, adding that confusion had impacted what was otherwise a “good news story” for affected employees’ future retirement income.

“The Department of Social Protection will need to provide clarity on several aspects of AE design for employers who wish to determine the best option for their employees not yet saving for retirement between an occupational pension scheme and AE,” LCP added.

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