But there is nothing automatic about which pension employers must pick, or in deciding whether individual staff members truly will be better off by putting cash into the chosen savings plan.

Automatic enrolment offers financial advisers the chance to show off their skill and find a satisfactory way to generate retirement income for employers and their staff. It also offers a potential business opportunity; during summer 2014 25,000 employers will hit their staging date.

It can take an employer up to 18 months to get everything in place to fulfil their duties, so many firms will be thinking about this now.

This guide will cover every element of the automatic enrolment rules, covering staging dates, contribution levels, the role financial advisers need to or could play, and how to advise employees and employers.

Answers supplied by Dale Critchley, technical reform manager of Friends Life; and Alistair McQueen, senior pensions manager at Aviva.