The world of pensions saw the start of a seismic change this April as the widely anticipated staging dates for employers were confirmed and the government established the very important and key earnings thresholds. From October 2012, a large number of the UK’s adult working population will start to be automatically opted-in to a qualifying workplace retirement savings plan. Both employees and their employer will need to contribute hard cash in an endeavour to avoid a catastrophic drop in the standards of living of generations of retirees to come.