It is important for people approaching retirements to assess their savings accounts and other financial products, it has been stressed.

Becky Wilks, spokesperson for the Money Advice Trust, noted that retirees should look to pay off any existing debts before making financial commitments.

"Whatever you have paid into your pension now is not going to increase whereas if you are still working you may get a better job or receive a pay rise," she suggested.

In recent days, a high court ruling failed to scrap the compulsory retirement age for workers over the age of 65. This means that employers can force workers to retire and do not have to give them a reason for their dismissal.

This means that people may have to rely on their savings accounts sooner than they thought, which Prudential believes could cost them as much as a third of their salary.

Workers who fail to save anything before they reach the age of 40 are most at risk, the company revealed, as they will need to save 33 per cent of their salaries for 25 years to be comfortable in retirement.

Even making small contributions from the age of 18 is preferable to not saving anything at all, Prudential suggested. This would involve putting away £9.19 a day until they are 65 to achieve the optimum pension of two-thirds of the current average salary.

Martyn Bogira, Prudential's director of defined contribution solutions, said: "It is critical that people get themselves out of the mindset that they will be able to rely solely on the state to look after them financially in their retirement."

So, people need to approach their retirement savings as early as possible to be in with a chance of leading a comfortable retirement. Contributing little and often is preferable to remaining oblivious to the money which will be needed later in life, experts have advised.