People 'should not delay pension saving'

People should try to start saving money towards their retirement as soon as they possibly can, new research suggests.

Figures from the retirement firm Prudential show that the longer people delay their pension saving, the more of their salary they will have to set aside as they get older.

The firm believes that those who fail to invest anything until the age of 40 might have to save as much as 33% of their earnings if they have aspirations to retire at 65 on two-thirds of their yearly salary.

Director of Defined Contribution Solutions at Prudential Martyn Bogira commented that UK employees should try and save towards their pension as soon as they feel able.

He said: "Understandably, making payments into a pension at age 18 may be a struggle and seem insignificant but even the smallest of contributions has the potential to make a massive difference."

Pensions specialist Dr Ros Altmann recently called for the government to address issues with the proposed personal accounts scheme, suggesting the pension annuities system needs more reform.

Written by David Shuker.