I understand the long awaited and much publicised auto-enrolment pension scheme is being launched this month. My question relates to the qualifying criteria and the upper age limit, which is stated to be 60 years and earning over €20k in annual salary.

I want to ask about the people who are just over 60 and earn just under €20,000, for example, and intend working for more years and would like to avail of this pension incentive. Is there any scope for them to contribute or is it a closed shop?

I cannot find the answer in any of the officially published information.

Mr C.F.

Auto-enrolment is now, as you say, reality. As of this month, anyone between the ages of 23 and 60 who is earning more than €20,000 across one or more jobs who is not already a member of a workplace pension scheme will be automatically signed up to the Government’s My Future Fund.

It’s a long time in the making but it will, no doubt, still come as a surprise to a lot of people – most likely as they open their pay cheque and notice that it seems slightly less than they had expected.

But what about those who don’t meet the criteria?

There are many people out there like you who will not be signed up to a workplace scheme – often because the company does not offer one – who are younger than 23 or older than 60.

Not all of them will be interested in starting a pension at this stage but some might, not least as it is a chance for an effective pay rise. Your employer will have to pay in 1.5 per cent of your salary from the outset and that will rise by a further 1.5 per cent of salary every three years until they are paying in 6 per cent from 2035.

And the State, too, must pony up – 0.5 per cent of your salary initially rising in half-percentage increments to 2 per cent by 2035.

There will also be people – many of them part-time workers – who are between those ages but who earn less than €20,000.

The rules are very straightforward on this. While anyone within the criteria will automatically be signed up to the My Future Fund, it is absolutely possible for anyone else outside those age bands or income thresholds to opt in voluntarily.

If they choose to do so, their employer(s) is/are obliged to include them and make the appropriate contributions. They cannot refuse.

To opt in, you can either go to the My Future Fund portal or fill in a paper form. For the portal, you will need a basic MyGovID account, a public services card and a mobile phone number that has been verified by the Department of Social Protection.

The number is generally verified as part of the MyGovID process.

The paper form is available here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the option to download forms, select Opt-in Request from the drop-down menu and download the form for printing, completion and posting back to them.

It will require a PPS number, name, address including Eircode, date of birth, email and phone number.

Whether you should sign up voluntarily is very much a matter for you.

Two things you probably need to consider. Auto-enrolment continues only until you hit the State pension age. So, if you are over 60, while you will benefit from the employer and State contributions, there will be little scope for investment growth.

And if your income is very low, and your living costs are in line with that, it may well be that the State pension itself will provide sufficient replacement income.

However, people on low incomes who are unlikely to have enough PRSI contributions for a full State pension should certainly consider signing up.

What about those who are in several jobs, some of which have occupational schemes of which they are a member and some of which do not?

If you opt in, any employment where you are not signed up to an occupational scheme will be covered by auto-enrolment. Where you are already signed up to an in-house scheme, there will be no change.

You need to be aware that if you do voluntarily opt in and subsequently opt out or suspend contributions, you will automatically be re-enrolled after two years even if you still do not meet the mandatory criteria.

It’s also worth noting that, for now anyway, people who are self-employed cannot join the scheme.

Please send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2, or by email to dominic.coyle@irishtimes.com with a contact phone number. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice