Final salary pension scheme payouts are due to reach a record high this year before falling thereafter, according to official government figures.

A report from the Department for Work and Pensions shows that the average amount paid from defined benefit (DB) schemes will reach around £7,100 a year towards the end of 2012.

However, this figure is due to drop to just above £2,400 a year by 2060, highlighting the need for urgent reform of the pension sector ahead of the government's automatic enrolment programme later this year.

Minister for pensions Steve Webb claimed that UK adults are now facing a "different world" in pensions as final salary schemes are closing and just over a third of workers are opting to save into a private pension.

"That is why our workplace pension reforms are so critical, bringing millions of people into pension saving for the first time," he said.

"Underlying this is our plan to bring in a new single tier state pension - an absolutely crucial foundation as one in three of us are now expecting to live to 100."

From October, workers at the largest employers will be automatically enrolled into a workplace pension scheme, with smaller businesses set to follow. This will bring up to ten million more people into pension saving from this year.