The campaigner and former pensions minister said that, rather than “constant negative messaging”, people needed to know about the positives of pensions so they understand the free money they will have and higher benefit payments they could have if they keep paying in.

Altmann’s comments come as research by The Pensions Management Institute suggested that one in five of the 2,000 workers it surveyed have stopped their pension contributions or are considering doing so – findings the peer blamed on pension providers failing to explain the many advantages built into private pensions.

She said: “This is a travesty and highlights my repeated warnings in recent years that the pensions industry has not done nearly enough to enthuse people about their pensions, nor to explain the many reasons for building up money by using the advantages built into private pensions.

“Why is pension messaging always so negative, rather than positive? There are so many reasons to encourage people to increase or at least continue their pension contributions, even during the cost of living crisis. Scare stories about later life penury are not the way to engender positive pension feelings – every story about inadequate pension contributions is designed to encourage people to save more, yet often has the opposite effect.”

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