Calendar reference
Auto-Enrolment compliance calendar 2026 - the deadline tracker for Irish payroll teams
My Future Fund (AERSS) went live on 1 January 2026. The contribution rates step at calendar-year boundaries (not employee anniversaries) - 2029, 2032, and 2035 - and each rate change opens a fresh opt-out window under Section 54(2). On top of the statutory calendar, payroll teams live with a within-month rhythm: AECS submission on or before pay date, 6:30 PM correction cutoff, weekly Monday AEPN refresh, up to 10 working days for contributions to reach the participant pot. Below: the year-by-year calendar, the within-month rhythm, and the dates where guidance is genuinely uncertain.
Year-by-year calendar (2025 to 2035)
| Date | Event | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Dec 2025 | S.I. 668/2025 (Section 52 Regulations) signed by Minister Calleary | Statutory | irishstatutebook.ie |
| Early Dec 2025 | First AEPNs issued by NAERSA based on Sept-Nov 2025 13-week lookback | Operational | NAERSA / vendor docs |
| 1 Jan 2026 | AERSS / My Future Fund go-live; NAERSA begins collecting from first 2026 payrolls | Statutory | gov.ie press release |
| Year 1 (2026-2028) | Phase 1 contribution rates: 1.5% employee + 1.5% employer + 0.5% State | Statutory | AERSS Act 2024 |
| 1 Aug 2026 | Opt-out window opens for an employee enrolled 1 Feb 2026 (worked example) | Statutory | s.54(2)(a) Act 20/2024 |
| 30 Sept 2026 | Opt-out window closes for an employee enrolled 1 Feb 2026 | Statutory | s.54(2)(a) Act 20/2024 |
| From Feb 2028 | First wave of automatic re-enrolments (2 years after first opt-outs) | Statutory | s.55 Act 20/2024 |
| 1 Jan 2029 | Phase 2 rate step: 3% / 3% / 1%. Triggers a fresh opt-out window | Statutory | AERSS Act 2024 + s.54(2)(c) |
| 1 Jan 2032 | Phase 3 rate step: 4.5% / 4.5% / 1.5%. Triggers a fresh opt-out window | Statutory | AERSS Act 2024 + s.54(2)(d) |
| 1 Jan 2035 | Phase 4 final rate: 6% / 6% / 2%. Triggers a fresh opt-out window | Statutory | AERSS Act 2024 + s.54(2)(e) |
Within-month rhythm: every pay period
The statutory calendar above is the macro picture. Within each pay period, payroll teams live with this rhythm. Most rows are operational SLAs from NAERSA / vendor documentation rather than statutory deadlines from the Act.
| Cadence | Event | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Every Monday | NAERSA refreshes the AEPN feed for changes through the prior Thursday | Operational |
| Every pay period | Retrieve RPN, retrieve AEPN, calculate net + AE contribution, submit AECS alongside PSR | Statutory |
| On or before pay date | AECS submission must reach NAERSA | Statutory |
| 6:30 PM on pay date | Latest cutoff for correction-AECS submissions for that pay date | Operational |
| Pay date or shortly after | Variable Direct Debit collects employer + State contributions from the registered mandate | Operational |
| Up to 10 working days from pay date | Contributions appear in the employee MyFutureFund participant portal | Operational |
| First January pay run, every year | Fresh AEPN issues to restart contributions for any employee whose earnings exceeded €80k in the prior year | Operational |
Worked example: an employee enrolled 1 February 2026
- 1 Feb 2026: AEPN enrolment notice issued by NAERSA. Contributions begin from the first pay period after this date.
- 1 Feb to 31 Jul 2026: Mandatory 6-month participation period. No opt-out is permitted. Contributions accrue at Phase 1 rates (1.5% / 1.5% / 0.5%).
- ~1 Aug 2026: Opt-out window opens. Section 54(2)(a) defines it as "more than 6 months but not more than 8 months after the date on which notice of enrolment is given."
- ~30 Sept 2026: Opt-out window closes. After this date, the participant is locked in until the next window (2-year re-enrolment in 2028, or end-of-year-3 rate change in 2029).
- ~Feb 2028: If the employee opted out in their original window, automatic re-enrolment AEPN issues - and a fresh 6-8 month opt-out window opens with it.
- 1 Jan 2029: Phase 2 rate step (3% / 3% / 1%). Whether opted out or in, every enrolled participant gets a fresh opt-out window for the rate increment under Section 54(2)(c).
Dates that are genuinely uncertain (May 2026)
Trust matters more than completeness on a calendar reference. Where guidance is missing or conflicting, we flag it rather than guess:
- The 6:30 PM AECS correction cutoff as a NAERSA-published service-level commitment - widely cited in vendor docs (BrightPay, Thesaurus) but we have not located the rule in NAERSA's own service definition. Treat as operational, not statutory.
- Variable Direct Debit settlement timing - "on or shortly after pay date" is NAERSA's framing. No fixed T+N is published.
- NAERSA annual statement issue date - existence confirmed by gov.ie ("an easy-to-understand annual statement, accessible online"); specific issue date not yet published.
- Pay-period straddle behaviour at rate-step boundaries - e.g. a fortnight covering 28 Dec 2028 to 10 Jan 2029. Vendor implementations may differ; check your payroll software's release notes ahead of December 2028.
- End-date for the "soft-touch" enforcement period - NAERSA's engagement-first framing is editorial, not statutory. Penalty regime under the AERSS Act 2024 is technically in force from 1 January 2026.
Where to go next
Auto-Enrolment key deadlines - frequently asked questions
Calendar answers for Irish payroll, finance, and HR teams running their first AE year.
What time on payday must I send the AECS by?
The AECS submission must reach NAERSA on or before pay date - the same rule that applies to the PAYE Modernisation Payroll Submission (PSR). Correction submissions for the same pay date are accepted up to 6:30 PM on payday. After that cutoff, corrections roll over into the next pay period. The 6:30 PM cutoff is widely cited in vendor documentation (BrightPay, Thesaurus); treat it as a NAERSA operational SLA rather than a statutory deadline.
What if my pay date falls on a bank holiday or weekend?
If pay date falls on a non-bank working day, the previous bank working day is treated as pay date for AECS submission purposes - provided employees actually receive their funds on that earlier day. This mirrors the long-standing PSR convention under PAYE Modernisation. Your payroll software should handle the date arithmetic automatically.
When does the 1.5% jump to 3%?
Pay periods with a pay date on or after 1 January 2029 use the Phase 2 rates: 3% employee + 3% employer + 1% State (total 7%). Phase 3 lands on 1 January 2032 (4.5% / 4.5% / 1.5%). Final Phase 4 lands on 1 January 2035 (6% / 6% / 2%). For pay periods that straddle a phase boundary (e.g. fortnight covering 28 December 2028 to 10 January 2029), check your payroll software's handling - vendor guidance varies and there is no statutory tie-breaker rule we have located.
My employee was enrolled on 1 February 2026 - when can they opt out?
Section 54(2)(a) defines the opt-out window as 'more than 6 months but not more than 8 months after the date on which notice of enrolment is given'. For a 1 February 2026 enrolment, the window opens around 1 August 2026 and closes around 30 September 2026 - approximately 61 days. The window is anchored to the AEPN notice date, not the calendar month or first contribution date.
When will an opted-out employee be re-enrolled?
Section 55 sets a 2-year cycle from the recorded opt-out date. The first wave of automatic re-enrolments will hit from approximately February 2028 onwards (for employees who opted out in February 2026). NAERSA issues a fresh AEPN automatically; no employee action is required, and the employee gets a fresh opt-out window inside the new 6-8 month period. Re-enrolment does NOT trigger if the employee has joined a qualifying occupational pension scheme meeting the Section 52 Regulations 2025 minimums.
How long before contributions show in the employee's MyFutureFund portal?
Up to 10 working days from pay date, per gov.ie operational guidance. The pipeline runs: AECS submission on payday, Variable Direct Debit collection same day or shortly after, NAERSA reconciliation, then allocation to the participant pot. NAERSA has not published a tighter service-level commitment, so build the 10-working-day expectation into any employee comms about contribution visibility.
Will I be fined if I miss January 2026?
NAERSA has signalled an engagement-first approach in the launch period - 'focus on ensuring compliance rather than imposing penalties' was the public framing. That is editorial, not statutory: the AERSS Act 2024 penalty regime is in force from day 1. Fixed penalty notices up to €5,000 apply for procedural breaches; serious offences (forgery, failure to comply with a compliance notice) carry up to €50,000 plus 3 years imprisonment. Don't bank on the soft-touch framing - get on a 2026 payroll release and register on the MyFutureFund portal.
What changes when an employee's earnings cross €80,000?
Contributions stop in the pay period after the threshold is breached. NAERSA issues a fresh AEPN with the contribution rate set to zero for that employee, and your payroll software stops deducting AE on the excess. From the first January pay run of the next calendar year, NAERSA issues another fresh AEPN at the prevailing rate to restart contributions for the new tax year. There is no refund of contributions paid on the excess earlier in the year.