Two thirds (66 per cent) of British adults are in favour of compulsory pensions contributions, according to research from LCP and YouGov.

The figure increased when asking those aged over 55, with 78 per cent supporting mandatory saving, suggesting that pensioners regret missed opportunities to save earlier in life.

This notion is supported by LCP and YouGov finding that only half of those aged 18-24 believed that pension saving should be compulsory, indicating that Brits don’t realise the importance of retirement saving until it’s too late.

The research also revealed that 21 per cent of workers felt that the total amount contributed by themselves and their employer should be at least 11 per cent of their monthly salary.

However, 11 per cent of 18-24 year old workers believed that just 1-2 per cent of their monthly salary was enough to provide financial security in retirement.

The proportion of those who felt that 1-2 per cent of their monthly salary was adequate fell to just 2 per cent for workers aged 45 and over.

Commenting on the findings, LCP senior partner, Bob Scott said: “Our research suggests that people on the whole support compulsion in retirement savings to help them achieve greater financial security.

“Auto-enrolment has been hugely successful in getting millions more people saving for their retirement. But there is still some way to go.

“Auto-enrolment does not include low earners or the self-employed which means that there are still more than 10 million private sector workers who are excluded.”

LCP and YouGov’s survey also asked those who thought pension saving should be compulsory what the minimum employee contribution should be.

Around 43 per cent said that it should be 3-5 per cent, while around a quarter (26 per cent) thought the minimum contribution should be 6-10 per cent.

Across all ages, a quarter (25 per cent) of workers said they did not know what they thought the minimum combined contribution should be.

Scott concluded: “Whilst we were relieved that Chancellor Philip Hammond resisted the temptation in the Autumn Budget to tinker with changes to pensions taxation, we would urge the government to commit to policies that ensure meaningful levels of retirement savings.

"Making pension saving compulsory could move things forward.”

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