‘’My future fund” or their future fund? Will the past repeat?

Posted 03/Sept/2026 – By Ross McGann

The original deal

At the age of 16 I began my first official taxable job. Couple of hours a week in a local shop, stocking shelves, working tills, putting away stock, the usual. My parents who both worked all of their lives made sure I was getting ”a stamp”, a phrase that came from an old social security tax system, sort of a predecessor of PRSI. With my first paycheck in hand I was happy in the knowledge that my PRSI or ”stamp” was in fact paid, meaning that if I kept going until I was 65 I could retire with the state pension and live happily ever after…

Over the years the goal posts changed and now not only must we keep going until we are 66 (or 67/68 if some get their way) before we can draw down on our state pension, now we have been “auto-enrolled” into a sate backed pension fund called “My Future Fund”.

Reminder of the past

When I first heard the announcement I thought back to the years of ”austerity” from 2010 through to 2016, where the government essentially “raided” the pension funds, and everyone else, to bail out the bankers.

Case Study

In the case of the Irish Airlines Superannuation Scheme (IASS), the pension scheme that covered employees from Aer Lingus, Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) and Shannon Airport Authority. In 2011 Fine Gael Minister of Finance, Michael Noonan introduced the state pension levy, an annual levy of 0.6% that over the initial life of the levy (2011-2014) would amount to a cumulative deduction of 2.4%.

Noonan U-turned on reversing the levy and in 2013 while announcing the 2014 budget, he confirmed that from January 2015 they would be increasing it to 0.75% and would be making it a permanent reduction. The Retired Aviation Staff Association (RASA) have noted that it amounts to a cumulative reduction in income for their members of around 2.54%.

The worst was yet to come

Then came January 2015, a dark day for so many retired airline staff, people who gave their entire lives to Irish aviation, they served their time, they flew the planes, they checked us in, kept the books, did the logistics, took care of us in the air and on the ground, they kept the planes in check and the whole place swept and looking tidy.

It was announced that Fine Gael’s Michael Noonan passed legislation to “restructure” the IASS defined benefit scheme to address a €750-€780 Million deficit ahead of the governments sale of its Aer Lingus stake to International Airlines Group. This change permitted pensioners benefits to be reduced by 10-20% depending on their entitlement levels.

In a move that many saw as targeting pensioners as they “Couldn’t Strike”, they protected benefits of active employees within the scheme, while targeting pensioners already drawing down.

Some pensioners at the time saw a total reduction of income of up to 22.53%.

Taken to court

A High Court challenge was taken by about 600 retired aviation workers against the State. The Judge Ms Justice Teresa Pilkington, found in favor of the State citing that the reductions were enacted under amendments to the Pension Act rather than breaching constitutional property rights.

Concerns for the future?

The last part there is what concerns me regards the My Future Fund, the legal precedent has been set in relation to “Restructuring” pension funds, doing so is not protected under constitutional property rights and as such future Irish Governments would be open to “Restructure” any state sponsored or involved pension fund in the further?

Other concerns relating to where the “My Future Fund” money is actually being invested are a report for a different day.