Nearly a third (29 per cent) of people don’t know how much they should save for their pensions, according to research by Hargreaves Lansdown (HL).

A survey of 1400 people by Opinium found varying opinions on how much was needed to pay into a pension.

Twenty-one percent of people thought they needed to save between 6 and 10 per cent of their salary yearly to have enough income in retirement.

A similar proportion (20 per cent) said 11-15 per cent of their annual salary.

Eight per cent thought they would need to save over 25 per cent of their wages every year.

However, 29 per cent said they didn’t know. This rose to 44 per cent for the over-55s but fell to 19 per cent for those aged 18-34.

Commenting on the findings, Hargreaves Lansdown head of analysis, Helen Morrissey, said: “Many of us save into a pension every month, with no real thought as to what we need to get out of it at the end and whether what we are doing is enough.

“HL’s latest research shows that almost one-third of people have no idea how much they need to save to give them enough to live on in their retirement years. The situation worsens as we age – a massive 44 per cent of people aged 55 and over confessed they had no idea.

"This is concerning not only because they are close to the age at which they would want to retire but also face curveballs in the coming years, such as ill health, which could force them to leave the workforce early. If they aren’t on track, then there’s a nasty surprise in store.

“We all have different ideas for what we want that time to look like and other things – such as mortgage or rental costs – may need to be factored in. For some, contributions of 8 per cent will give them what they need, while others will have to do more.

"Checking in with your pensions on a regular basis is a great way of making sure you remain on track for the kind of retirement income you want and gives you time to put a plan in place if you need to catch up."

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