Auto-enrolment on to pensions will soon be a compulsory part of the many companies’ employee benefit schemes and regulation to help firms prepare for this change was published yesterday (February 1st).

When it is rolled out, the new legislation will mean businesses have to sign personnel up to retirement programmes automatically, although staff members can opt out.

Announcing the release of the new package of regulations yesterday, pensions minister Steve Webb said the programme is designed to kick start “a much-needed seismic shift in pension saving in this country”.

General secretary of the Trades Union Congress Brendan Barber seemed to agree with the policymaker.

“Today is one to celebrate what promises to be the most significant change in the workplace pensions landscape for many years – and certainly one of the very few progressive ones,” he stated.

A new timetable for the roll-out of the programme was released on January 25th, allowing more time for small firms to prepare for the changes.

It said companies with 250 or more people on the payroll must introduce the new employee benefits between October 1st 2012 and February 1st 2014.

Other business sizes will be phased in over the years until 2018.