Be careful of auto-enrolment if you already have €2m in your pension fund!

[Brendan Burgess]

Irish executives with pension funds at €2m limit to be caught by auto-enrolment

Anything above so-called standard fund threshold is taxed at 40%

www.irishtimes.com

High-paid executives who have stopped contributions to their pensions to avoid breaching a €2 million tax-friendly threshold will inadvertently find themselves signed up to the Republic’s incoming auto-enrolment (AE) pension regime.

...
The defined scope of the incoming AE, aimed at capturing about 750,0000 mainly lower-paid not in pension scheme, means it could also “include people who have ceased contributions to a pension scheme to remain below the SFT”, a spokesman for the Department of Social Protection has confirmed to The Irish Times.
...
Still, individuals can opt out of the AE scheme, which the Government plans to launch in January, after six months.

 

[Brendan Burgess]

Won't they have to keep opting out as the system automatically enrols them again even if they opt out?

 

[Towger]

Won't they have to keep opting out as the system automatically enrols them again even if they opt out?

Yes, but I don't see it being an issue unless they are right at the 2M threshold and don't keep at eye on their accounts.

In any event AE is still years away.