Appointments to the committees to the Board of the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority

Appointments to the committees to the Board of the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA)

The Government has established an automatic enrolment (AE) retirement savings scheme, known as My Future Fund, where employees, who are not otherwise participants in an occupational retirement savings scheme or equivalent, will be automatically enrolled into a retirement savings scheme. Contributions and investments commence in January 2026.

The savings of enrolled participants will comprise three elements – an employee contribution, an employer contribution and a State ‘top-up’. The employer and employee contributions will be automatically collected via employers and, together

with the State top-up, allocated into one of three investment strategy funds. The funds will be provided and manged by contracted investment management providers and participants will receive the average return from among these providers. The value of funds to be collected and managed will be significant - amounting to about €1bn in

the first year of operation and growing to in excess of €20bn after 10 years and in excess of €300bn over a 30-to-40-year period. Day to day administration of

contributions and the provision of participant services (including access via an online portal to service options, account statements etc.) will be provided by a contracted service partner.

The statutory basis for, and further details in relation to, the scheme are set out in the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Act 2024 (the ‘Act’).

Further details of the operation of the scheme are also available.

My Future Fund is supervised and managed by the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA) which has responsibility to “establish, maintain and control generally the automatic enrolment retirement savings system”.

NAERSA was established as a separate authority operating under the aegis of the Department of Social Protection on 14 October 2025. Procured service contracts, including investment management contracts, related to My Future Fund entered into by the Department up to commencement of operation will novate over to NAERSA.

NAERSA comprises an executive or staff team and a Board, the members of which were appointed by the Minister for Social Protection. Current Board members are set out in Appendix 1.

The Board, in accordance with Sections 18 and 19 of the Act, now wishes to invite expressions of interest from suitably qualified persons to act as members of the Audit and Risk Committee and Investment Committee.

The functions of the Audit and Risk Committee are set out in section 18 of the Act as follows: The Audit and Risk Committee will:

a) ensure the transparency and integrity of the Authority’s accounting and

financial reporting systems,

b) ensure that appropriate systems of internal control are in place, in particular, systems for risk management and financial and operational control, and

c) arrange for the appointment of auditors to carry out audits of the books, accounts and other financial statements of service providers engaged under section 32 and investment management providers appointed under section 68 so far as they relate to the services performed for the Authority.

The functions of the Investment Committee are set out in section 19 of the Act as follows: The Investment Committee will:

a) establish an investment strategy for the purpose of entering into and managing investment management contracts under section 68,

b) establish risk management guidelines within the framework of the investment strategy,

c) advise the Board on matters relating to the investment strategy or risk management guidelines as the Board may require, and

d) effectively monitor the performance of AE provider schemes and inform the Board in writing of any matter that it considers to require the Board’s attention.

The Board invites applications from suitably qualified, skilled and experienced candidates to fill three vacancies on the Audit and Risk Committee and three vacancies on the Investment Committee, each committee reports into the Board of NAERSA.

Members to be appointed to the NAESRA committees will be expected to demonstrate that they have qualifications, knowledge, and experience that are relevant to the operation of NAERSA and the relevant committee.

Individual committee members will not be expected to be able to demonstrate all of the required skills. Therefore, the Board shall, in making appointments take account of the mix of skills available among candidates such that each committee as a collective can possess the full range of skills.

The Board, in appointing members to the committees, will have regard to the desirability of their having knowledge connected to:

• the functions of NAESRA
• organisational governance, management, financial administration and financial investment
• the public sector

For each committee, candidates must demonstrate in their application evidence of experience at an appropriately senior level in one or more of the following areas:

• A relevant professional accountancy, finance or risk management qualification, and current membership of any relevant professional body.
• Audit and risk committee experience in the financial services or public sectors
• Pension fund, financial services or asset management experience (with emphasis given to managerial experience)
• Risk management and oversight
• Actuarial analysis
• Legal/regulatory matters
• Knowledge and experience of ICT and cyber-security issues

• A relevant professional finance, asset management or pension/investment governance qualification, and current membership of any relevant professional body.
• Investment committee experience in the financial services, asset management or pensions sectors
• Pension fund, financial services or asset management experience (with emphasis given to managerial experience)
• Operational and/or strategic experience of investment management
• Procurement and/or oversight experience in the pensions or asset management sectors
• Financial risk management and oversight (with a focus on investment risk)
• Actuarial analysis
• Legal/regulatory matters

Candidates will more generally be expected to have strong analytical and communication skills, to have integrity and the ability to work collegially, and an ability to understand financial data, risk reporting and good governance principles.

The Board encourages applications from diverse, qualified candidates to ensure the Board is a true reflection of Irish society and shall have regard to the desirability for gender balance, diversity and inclusion on the committees.

In order to qualify for appointment a person must not have any legal impediment or conflicts of interest likely to interfere with his/her ability to assume the role of committee member. Please give careful consideration to the possibility of any potential conflict of interest that may exist and address this in your cover letter. The Assessment Panel may decide, based on the perceived level of conflict, not to forward your name for consideration.

Appointments to the NAERSA committees will be for an initial period of 3 to 4 years with an option to extend the term of engagement for a second term, subject to the following conditions:

· A committee member may be removed from membership of it by the Board, subject to due process

· A committee member may resign by letter addressed to the Board, and the resignation shall take effect on the date specified in the letter, or the date on which the Board receives the letter, whichever is the later

A committee member shall cease to be and shall be disqualified from being a member of it where such member is:

• A member of either House of the Oireachtas, European Parliament or local authority as set out at Section 14 of the AE Act,
• adjudicated bankrupt,
• becomes a member of staff of NAERSA,
• is convicted on indictment of an offence, or is convicted outside the State of an offence consisting of acts or omissions which would constitute an offence triable on indictment if done or made in the State,
• is convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty,
• has a declaration made against him or her under section 819 of the Companies Act 2014 or is deemed to be subject to such a declaration by virtue of Chapter 5 of Part 14 of that Act,
• is subject to, or is deemed to be subject to, a disqualification order within the meaning of Chapter 4 of Part 14 of the Companies Act 2014 whether by virtue of that Chapter or of any other provision of that Act,
• makes a composition or arrangement with his or her creditors, or
• is removed by a competent authority for any reason (other than failure to pay a fee) from any register established for the purpose of registering members of a profession in the State or another jurisdiction.

See the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies 2016 for more information.

Having considered the general suitability criteria, you should consider carefully how your background and experience fits with the specific appointment criteria set out in this booklet.

Your submission should be made to, the Secretary by email at: graham.dullaghan@naersa.ie together with your Curriculum Vitae and a cover letter.

Your Cover Letter and supporting CV should clearly specify how your background and experience meets the requirements of the NAERSA committee positions specified in this booklet.

An Assessment Panel (the “Panel”) will be convened by the Board to consider and assess the applications received.

The Panel will:

• review and discuss the expressions of interest received against the specific appointment criteria for the role, as set out in this Booklet;
• assess potential candidates further once they meet the specified appointment criteria by undertaking any or all of the following steps: - Consideration of the written applications; and/or - Meeting/conference call; and/or - Referee checks; and/or - Any other selection or verification method deemed appropriate
• arrive at a shortlist of the most suitably qualified candidates (based on the information provided by the candidate) to be sent forward for consideration by the Board.

Subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Acts, 2014, applications will be treated in strict confidence. All enquires, applications and all aspects of the proceedings are treated as strictly confidential and are not disclosed to anyone, outside those directly involved in that aspect of the process.

This process is subject to the Data Protection Act 2018 which provides that the processing of personal data shall be lawful where such processing is necessary for the performance of a statutory function of a controller. By submitting your personal data (including your name, address, contact details and details of your education and work history contained in your curriculum vitae and cover letter), you acknowledge that such data may be used by NAERSA in relation to appointments to the committees of NAERSA.

For more information on data protection, please contact the Secretary at graham.dullaghan@naersa.ie.

• Chair: Ms. Roma Burke, Partner and Consulting Actuary with Lane Clark & Peacock Ireland Ltd. Former Chair of the Pensions Council, and former member of the Pensions Commission.
• Professor Alan Barrett, Research Professor and former Director at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and Chair of the Commission on Care for Older People.
• Mr. Tony Donohoe, former Senior Policy Advisor on Pensions at IBEC, and the
• current Chair of the EU's Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop).
• Ms. Patricia King, former General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) and current Chairperson of the Statutory External Oversight Body of the Defence Forces.
• Mr. Brian Murphy, Chartered Accountant and former Chief of Staff to the Taoiseach.
• Dr. Orlaigh Quinn, former Secretary General of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and current Chair of the Governing Committee of the Research Ireland CONNECT Centre.
• Ms. Mary Walsh, former partner at PwC, and former non-executive director of the Central Bank, the NTMA, and the Pensions Board.