Dr David Ferguson, the private therapist from Behind Her Eyes, would have the largest pension pot amongst fictional British TV characters at £209,594, while other iconic characters may fall on harder times, according to PensionBee.

Its analysis estimated the pension savings that would be held by some of the most iconic British TV characters, based on defined contribution pensions, with Dr Ferguson coming out on top with savings of £209,594, enough to see him through “well past his 98th birthday”.

Private detective, Sherlock Holmes, meanwhile, could expect to have the second highest pension at retirement with £189,492, while Friday Night Dinner’s Jonny Goodman, an estate agent, could expect to retire with a pension pot of £194,569.

However, whilst The IT Crowd’s Jen Barber had the highest salary at £42,500, her pension was expected to last 10 years less than Dr Ferguson’s, valued at £160,455.

A number of the iconic characters are likely to face concerns over the pension saving adequacy, with Gavin & Stacey’s Nessa, an arcade supervisor, expected to face an additional five years of work in order secure the average annual income of £17,200 from her pension.

Outnumbered’s Sue Brockman, a personal assistant, would also need to work an additional four years, while the Lance Slater, a fork lift truck driver from Detectorists, would need to work an additional three years.

Nine out of the 10 largest pension pots were found to be held by Millennial TV characters, aged 24-40, while over half (60 per cent) of characters who would need to work past the retirement age were Gen X, those aged 41-54 years old.

PensionBee highlighted the findings to help show members the need to start planning for retirement early, suggesting that members should start saving sooner rather than later and track down any old pension pots.

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