Young workers must start saving for pensions in their 20s or risk losing half their final fund

University graduates and school leavers risk halving their retirement fund if they put off contributing to their occupational pension until they are 30, HSBC Bank has warned.

A poll by the high-street bank found that half of 16- to 24-year-olds feel they are too young to prioritise a pension, and it is only when they hit 35 that they start to take saving for retirement seriously.

HSBC calculated this delay to setting cash aside for retirement could halve the size of the fund these people will have when they finish working.

Ian Martin, head of pensions and retirement income at HSBC, said a 21-year-old paying £75 a month into a stakeholder pension could get a pension fund of £337,000, but if they put off contributing until they turn 30, they will retire with just £171,000.

Martin said: “For graduates starting work for the first time, retirement seems a long way off and their pension just isn’t a priority.

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“However, with the basic state pension currently only paying £84.25p per week – and likely to decrease over the years – no-one can afford to put their pension on the back-burner.”