If you start work and saving for retirement at 22, your pension pot by the time you reach 68  be approximately £210,000. However, if you delay this by just five years and only start saving at 27, you’ll be £40,000 worse off with just £170,000 at 68.

This is according to a new report by Standard Life, as seen by Money Week. And the calculations just get worse the more you put off saving for retirement.

If young workers only start saving into a workplace pension at 32, they’ll be looking at around £136,000 by the time they’re likely to qualify for a state pension.

Delaying saving by 15 years will make them £103,000 worse off than someone who started saving at 22, proving that each moment counts when it comes to pension funds.

These figures are based on an person starting employment with a £25,000 starting salary at 22 and receiving a yearly pay increase of 3.5%. The experts also factor in a 5% personal pension contribution and a 3% employer contribution to a scheme yielding a 5% investment return.