Three major issues have been highlighted by Prudential as reasons for a continuing pensions crisis in the UK.

A decline in occupational pensions - which pay up to two-thirds final salary - and the use of potential retirement savings to pay off debts and help their children by the Baby Boomer generation have both been cited by a panel of experts convened by Prudential as reasons for this.

Younger generations having large amounts of debt meaning they cannot make retirement planning a priority is also set to play its part, according to the experts, who included representatives from Prudential, Equus and Defaqto.

"There's a great deal of education that needs to be done when it comes to retirement income planning," said Gary Shaughnessey, Prudential retirement income panel host and managing director of Prudential Life & Pensions.

He added that the average male retiring at 60 lives to 85, some ten years beyond the retirees' own expectations. The average pension pot at retirement is £25,000, something Mr Shaughnessey believes is "stunningly low".

A number of solutions, including greater access to financial advice, jargon and product transparency, and learning lessons from how other countries act were all proposed by the panel.

Yesterday it was suggested by Paternoster that members of now-defunct pension schemes cannot know how much pension they will get due to the inconsistency of lump sum calculations, Citywire reported.