Research by SIPP provider, Liberty SIPP, found a person retiring at age 65 would need a pension pot of £220,276 to have an annual income equivalent to the minimum wage, £12,115.20.

According to the latest National Association of Pension Funds statistics, at present, the average UK pension pot is estimated to be in the region of £30,000 – less than one seventh of the amount needed to generate a minimum wage income.

A person seeking to retire at age 55, by contrast, would need a pension pot of £281,749 to enjoy an income equivalent to the minimum wage.

For people over 21, the minimum wage is currently £6.19, rising to £6.31 from 1 October.

John Fox, managing director at Liberty SIPP, said: “These simple calculations drive home just how extreme the current pension crisis is.

“The average pension pot at retirement, estimated to be around £30,000, is a fraction of the roughly £220,000 required to generate an income equivalent to the minimum wage.

“It’s widely known that many pensioners are on the breadline but when you think that the typical retirement income will be just one seventh of the minimum wage, it relays the true extent of the problem we’re dealing with.

“People need to start saving, and saving regularly, if they are to avoid pension poverty.”