PRSAs in Ireland: Employer Duties and How They Work

If you employ people in Ireland and do not offer an occupational pension scheme that all your staff can join, the Pensions Authority says you must give the affected staff access to at least one standard personal retirement savings account (PRSA). This guide explains, in plain terms, what a PRSA is, which employees count as "excluded employees", what an employer has to do and what the official pages say about payroll and tax. It covers the PRSA access duty only. Auto-enrolment is a separate topic, covered in our auto-enrolment guide for employers.

The law is national, so the position is the same for a Dublin employer as for one anywhere else in the State. Pension rules and figures change, so treat this post as a starting point and confirm the current position on the pages we name.

What a PRSA is

According to the Pensions Authority (page last updated 15 April 2025), a PRSA is an individual defined contribution pension arrangement. It provides a tax-free lump sum, within certain limits, plus a pension or other benefits at retirement. The final value depends on the contributions paid, investment returns after fees and charges, and the cost of buying benefits at retirement.

It is usually funded by the individual's own contributions, but an employer can also pay contributions into it. PRSAs can be bought directly from financial services companies, such as life assurance companies that are registered PRSA providers, or through financial advisers. The Authority's consumer and employers' guide (March 2024) also says a PRSA is not risk-free or backed by any Government guarantee.

Standard and non-standard PRSAs

The employer duty is tied to the standard PRSA, so the distinction matters. The Pensions Authority's PRSA pages describe it this way:

• Standard PRSA: charges are capped (the Authority's page states 5% of contributions paid and 1% a year of the funds under management), and investment is limited to pooled funds, such as unit trusts and life company unit funds. The Authority's consumer and employers' guide (dated March 2024) adds that a standard PRSA cannot be sold on condition that the buyer takes another product.
• Non-standard PRSA: there is no maximum charge, and a wider range of investments may be allowed. The guide advises asking for a cost comparison and signing a Central Bank declaration before buying one.

Those percentages are the figures shown on the Authority's pages at the time of writing. Check the page on the day you rely on them.

Which employees are "excluded employees"

The Pensions Authority page on employers' obligations (last updated 15 April 2025) states that employers have no statutory duty to set up or fund a pension scheme. The access duty applies where an employer has no scheme, or where an employee is an "excluded employee". An employee is excluded if they:

• work for an employer that offers no occupational pension scheme;
• are covered by a scheme that provides only death-in-service benefits;
• are not eligible to join the scheme and will not become eligible within six months of starting work; or
• are in a scheme that does not allow additional voluntary contributions (AVCs).

The Authority's guide says the duty applies regardless of the size of the workforce, to part-time, fixed-term and seasonal staff, and even where there is only one excluded employee.

What the employer has to do

An employer in this position must contract with a PRSA provider (the guide says at no charge) and, according to the Authority, must:

• tell excluded employees they have a right to contribute to a standard PRSA;
• give the PRSA provider or an intermediary reasonable access to excluded employees at the workplace;
• allow reasonable paid leave, subject to work requirements, so employees can set up a standard PRSA;
• deduct contributions from pay at the employee's request and pass them to the provider, without charging for the service; and
• confirm to employees in writing, at least monthly and usually on the payslip, the total contribution, including any employer contribution.

The guide also makes clear what the employer is not responsible for. Employers need not advise staff on PRSAs (they must allow the provider or intermediary to brief them), and they are not responsible for a PRSA's investment performance. Employer contributions are optional.

Payroll deductions and remittance

The March 2024 guide says employee and employer contributions must reach the provider within 21 days after the end of the month in which they were deducted, and that no deduction may be taken from that payment. Employees who choose a different provider pay that provider directly, for example by direct debit.

On the tax side, Revenue's page on PRSAs in payroll (published 24 September 2026) says an employer who does not make an occupational scheme available must provide access to a standard PRSA. It says you may deduct an employee's PRSA contributions from gross pay under the net pay arrangement when calculating income tax. If you do not, the employee can claim relief directly from Revenue, given as a tax credit on their Revenue Payroll Notification. The same page says not to deduct PRSA contributions from gross pay when calculating Universal Social Charge or PRSI.

Revenue's page on claiming pension tax relief (published 22 October 2025) is consistent: for PAYE employees the employer usually deducts the contributions from pay and gives the relief, and an employee whose employer does not can claim through their return in myAccount.

Employer contributions

If you choose to contribute, the Pensions Authority guide states that employer contributions are deductible for corporation tax. Revenue's manual, described below, says contributions above the employer limit are not deductible. For the employee-side treatment, Revenue's Pensions Manual chapter on PRSAs (last updated May 2025) explains that the treatment of employer contributions has changed over time. It says an "employer limit" linked to the employee's emoluments applies from 1 January 2025, and that contributions above the limit are a benefit in kind for the employee and not deductible for the employer. We have not reproduced the detail here. If you plan to pay employer contributions, read that chapter or take advice, because the rules have been amended in recent years.

Revenue's PRSA payroll page does not set out how employer contributions are treated, so do not infer it from that page.

Enforcement

The Pensions Authority supervises employers' compliance with the Pensions Act. Its guide says on-the-spot fines may apply where an employer fails to respond to a request from the Authority for information about standard PRSA access, or fails to provide the monthly contribution statement. The Authority's page listing specified offences subject to a notice of intention to prosecute (the document is dated June 2023; the web page shows a later modification date) lists a fixed fine of €2,000 for each of those two employer offences. Penalties can change, so check the current page. This guide does not set out section-level detail from the underlying Act; check the legislation if you need it.

A practical checklist

Our suggestion: treat the PRSA duty as a short compliance project rather than a one-off letter.

• Map your workforce. List every employee, including part-time, fixed-term and seasonal staff, and record whether each can join an occupational scheme within six months and whether that scheme allows AVCs.
• Choose and document the provider. Keep the contract with the PRSA provider and a record of when you told excluded employees about their right to contribute.
• Set up the payroll routine. Agree how requests are received, how deductions are made and how remittance is scheduled so contributions reach the provider on time. Add the monthly total to payslips.
• Keep the paperwork. Retain copies of notices, provider contact details and remittance records in case the Pensions Authority asks for information.
• Train the people who run it. Payroll and HR colleagues need to understand the duty. If you are building HR capability in this area, our overview of employment law training in Dublin for HR managers may help you plan.

Where trustees fit in

A PRSA is an individual arrangement with a provider, separate from an occupational scheme. If your organisation also has an occupational scheme with trustees, the trustees have their own knowledge and understanding requirements, which are covered in our guide to pension trustee knowledge and understanding requirements.

Learnsignal's offices are off Baggot Street in Dublin, and we offer in-person training from there. For current details, see our CPD pages.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to contribute to my employees' PRSAs?

No. The Pensions Authority states that employer contributions are optional and that employers have no statutory duty to set up or fund a pension scheme. The duty is to provide access to a standard PRSA for excluded employees.

Does the duty apply to small employers?

According to the Pensions Authority's guide, yes. The duty applies regardless of workforce size and even where there is only one excluded employee.

Can an employee choose their own PRSA provider?

The guide says employees who use another provider pay directly, for example by direct debit or cheque. The employer's payroll obligation relates to the provider the employer has contracted with.

What is the difference between PRSA tax relief through payroll and through a tax return?

Revenue says an employer may deduct PRSA contributions from gross pay under the net pay arrangement for income tax. If the employer does not, the employee can claim the relief from Revenue. Neither route removes the need to check the relief limits on Revenue's own pages.

Where can I check the current rules?

Use the Pensions Authority's pages on employers' obligations and on PRSAs, and Revenue's PRSA payroll page and Pensions Manual. Figures and rules change, so check them on the day.

In short: identify your excluded employees, put a standard PRSA in place, run the payroll steps reliably and keep the records, and check the Pensions Authority and Revenue pages whenever the rules may have changed.