Savers are being urged to “start early and save often” if they want to have a comfortable retirement.

Consumer watchdog Which? polled 1,590 retired couples in the UK and found they needed an average annual income of £18,000 to cover household essentials, such as energy bills, food and transport.

However, this amount increased to £26,000 per annum to fund additional extras, such as a European holiday and leisure activities.

Which? calculates that consumers would need a combined pension pot of £210,000 on top of their state pension by the time they reach retirement.

Those who begin saving at the age of 20 would need to contribute the least (£131 per month over 48 years) to achieve the targeted income of £26,000 by the average retirement age of 68.

In comparison, 50-year-olds would need to save the most (£633 per month over 17 years) to hit that target by the age of 67.

Gareth Shaw, money expert at Which?, said:

“When it comes to saving for your retirement: start early and save often.

“Being a part of your company pension scheme is a good start, but, depending on how much you contribute, you could well need to save a little more to have the lifestyle you want in retirement.”

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