Automatic enrolment: welcome to your new pension scheme Below we look at who will be affected, and how much they will have to pay into these pension schemes. Do all companies have to offer staff pensions? When this programme is fully implemented, all employers will have to offer pensions to those who are aged over 22, and who pay income tax. Younger workers and those earning less still have the right to join, but won't be automatically enrolled into these schemes. Initially it is just larger companies (employing more than 120,000 people) who will have to have these payroll and pension systems in place by October 1 (although there is provision for firms to delay this start by up to three months). Smaller companies will then be signed up in stages, so by this time next year all firms employing 1,250 people will be covered. This will account for a sizeable proportion of the working population. The very smallest employers won't be required to enrol staff into a pension until 2018. How much will I pay in? To start with just 1pc of employee's pay will be automatically deducted from their salary and invested in a pension scheme. This will include tax relief, so in effect they will only lose 0.8pc of their net pay. Employers must also add an additional 1pc - although they can of course add more. However, these limits will increase in stages. By 2018, so employees will pay 5pc (will means 4pc of their net salary, plus tax relief) and employers will add a further 3pc. Can I opt out? However, those who fail to tell their employer that they want to opt out will be automatically enrolled in the scheme. Rather than most people "putting off" joining a pension scheme, it is hoped that traditional apathy and reluctance to engage with pensions may work to stop opt-outs and therefore help boost most workers' retirement savings. Can I change my mind at a later date? People will be free to leave the scheme and no further deductions will be taken from your salary. However, you won't get a refund of contributions made to that date, and the money invested will remain in the pension plan until your normal retirement age. Will I get a choice of pension funds? This will depend on the arrangements put in place by your employer. Larger companies are likely to have a range a funds, including specialist ethical funds, low-cost tracker funds or riskier overseas investments. Other providers may offer one large diversified fund that offers an element of "lifestyling," whereby people's money is invested in equities in the early years but moves into safer assets - such as cash and bonds - as you near your retirement age. What about charges? Most pension funds offered via auto-enrolment intend to charge total annual expenses of about 0.5pc of the value of your fund. I've heard about Nest. Is this the same thing? Nest - or the National Employment Savings Trust to give it its full name - is a provider of these pensions. It was set up by Government to ensure that pension companies did not ignore smaller companies, for whom it might not be profitable to accept this business. There will be other providers also looking to be the default pension scheme used by employers. These include the Danish firm Now: Pensions and The People's Pension. I already contribute to a pension scheme. Will I be affected? As long as your scheme meets the minimum standards for auto-enrolment, there should be no change. But there are fears that if your employer currently contributes more than the statutory minimum, some might be tempted to reduce these contributions, particularly if they now have to invest this money for all their staff, rather than just those who had taken the time to opt into the workplace pension scheme.