This chart shows pension savers in their 50s should put £7,500 more into their pension each year – while those in their 20s should save £1,500 more

The average Briton in their 50s should be saving almost £7,500 more each year if they want to have a comfortable retirement.

That's according to a study by Aviva, which suggests not only that the gap between what people in the UK are saving and the income they're expecting to have during their retirement has increased – but that it's among the highest gaps in Europe.

According to the figures, the UK's pensions savings gap is €365bn (£314bn) – second in Europe only to Germany's €469bn.

This chart, put together for City PM by Statista, shows how much more each age group should, on average, be saving into your pension each year.

The research suggested 55 per cent of Britons are planning on funding their retirement through a state pension, while 39 per cent will rely on a private pension.

Some 29 per cent are just going to keep on working, while 21 per cent plan on selling their home – and 17 per cent said they "regularly set money aside for retirement". Sounds suspiciously as though they're stuffing cash under their mattresses…

Pensions vs property

To be fair, the majority of millennials have other priorities. Yesterday research by the Nottingham Building Society found 24 per cent of under-35s say the main focus of their savings is buying a house – with just eight per cent saying they'd rather save for retirement.

That came after Bank of England economist Andy Haldane was accused of being "divorced from reality", after he suggested he'd rather invest in property than put cash into a pension scheme.

"[It's] probably quite easy for someone with a gold-plated final salary pension to dismiss the importance of saving in a pension for retirement," snarked Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Tom McPhail. Ooof.

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