When times are tough we make cutbacks to get by, but not all cutbacks are equal and deciding to ditch one particular product could leave you worse off for 20 years

Since the pandemic struck, one person in four has reduced the amount of money they are paying into their pension.

Figures from Hargreaves Lansdown show 14% of people have lowered their contributions, while 11% have cut them entirely.

But while saving for retirement can seem like a distant problem, not saving enough now is a mistake that’s incredibly hard to correct later.

Separate research from Legal & General Retail Retirement shows that a 50-year-old on average wages who stopped paying in would be nearly £100,000 worse off by the age of 75 if they never saved into their workplace pension again.

The cost to younger Brits would be far higher still.