Pension Auto-Enrolment: Leaving Women Behind?

A new report from the National Women’s Council (NWC) warns that Ireland’s upcoming pension auto-enrolment scheme, set to begin in September 2025, will fail to address the persistent gender pension gap, potentially making it even worse.

The report, titled ‘Still Stuck in the Gap – Pensions Auto-Enrolment from a Gender and Care lens’, highlights that while the scheme aims to expand occupational pension coverage, it primarily focuses on paid employment, neglecting unpaid care work, a burden significantly impacting women.

The Gender Pension Gap: A Deep-Rooted Problem

Currently, the gender pension gap stands at a staggering 35%. This disparity arises from various factors, including women’s higher likelihood of taking time out of paid employment for care responsibilities, coupled with their greater prevalence in lower-paying, part-time roles. Consequently, women contribute less to occupational pensions compared to men.

According to the NWC, the auto-enrolment scheme, by further tying pension entitlement to paid employment, risks deepening this existing inequality.

Calls for Reform: A Universal Pension for All

“As one of the biggest reforms of our pension system in decades, the new pension auto-enrolment scheme fails to address the deep inequalities in our pension system,” said Orla O’Connor, Director of the National Women’s Council. “By tying pension entitlement even closer to paid employment, auto-enrolment leaves out the importance of unpaid care yet again which impacts women much more than men,” Ms O’Connor added.

The NWC urges the incoming government to prioritize pension reform that tackles the structural inequalities within the system. This includes expanding both the coverage and amount of the State pension, ultimately aiming for a universal pension adequate for all, regardless of their employment status or gender.

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