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Ireland has passed a bill to create a new retirement savings scheme for those who are not already in a pension scheme – and TCS has been selected to provide the administration.
Ireland has passed a bill to bring in a pension auto-enrolment system and has selected IT service provider Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as its preferred bidder to manage the service.
The Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill made it through final hurdles this week, being approved by both Houses of the Oireachtas. The bill will be sent to the President to be enacted.
This Bill aims to create a new retirement savings scheme for workers who are not already members of a pension scheme – the goal is to have 800,000 workers enrolled in 2025. It will also establish an independent public body to administer the system properly, which will be supported by the Department of Social Protection.
This public body will enroll participants, collect and pool contributions, arrange for the investment of contributions, manage participant accounts and facilitate the payment of savings at retirement.
TCS has been the pensions administration provider for the UK’s National Employment Savings Trust – an equivalent of Ireland’s planned service. The new contract with TCS will last for 10 years and is estimated to be valued at up to €150m, The Irish Times reports.
Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys, TD, said auto-enrolment has been talked about for decades and it is now “very much on track” to be delivered in Ireland.
“Auto-enrolment is a truly transformative policy that I am proud to deliver for Ireland,” Humphreys said. “It will make sure that hard-working men and women across the country will be able to save for their future, with help from their employers and the State.
“I am also pleased that we have concluded the procurement process to source a managed service for the provision and operation of the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Scheme and look forward to engaging with TCS as our preferred bidder for these services.”
TCS is one of the world’s largest IT service providers, with more than half a million employees across nearly 50 countries. The company has been operating in Ireland for more than 20 years and employs nearly 1,400 people in Letterkenny, where it has a global delivery centre.
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