Many people could be delaying their decision to begin making preparations for their retirement and setting money aside in a pension scheme.

This is according to Dr Ros Altmann, director-general of over-50s group Saga, who asserted that "we know that people begin thinking about their pensions far too late".

She said this culture needs to change in order to encourage more people to begin thinking about saving.

Information regarding pensions can be made more accessible and clearer, according to the expert, adding there is too much red tape and overly complex jargon.

This closely echoes the findings of a study conducted by the National Employment Savings Trust, which found only six per cent of the population considers pensions to be straightforward.

A radical redesign of state pensions was also suggested by Dr Altmann, as people need to "understand in future that, if they have no other later life income, they will be unable to afford a decent lifestyle".