Concern about cost is the main factor holding people back from starting a pension.

Other factors include the expense of raising a family, with people also stating they feel they are too young to save for retirement, according to research commissioned by Bank of Ireland.

It comes as the Government has firmed up some of the detail on a new auto-enrolment pension to be launched for around 600,000 workers from 2022.

Some six out of 10 workers in the private sector do not have a private or occupational pension, which will mean they will only have the State pension to rely on when they retire.

A survey carried out by iReach for Bank of Ireland found that those who do not have a pension see cost as the big issue. Some 26pc of those who do not have a pension said they were concerned they cannot afford one. Another 23pc cited the cost of supporting their family as the reason for not starting one.

Surveyors were told by 18pc that they were too young to start paying into a retirement fund. The research found that for those who have a pension many feel they have left it too late to make provision for their retirement.

This was the case for 33pc of those surveyed. Most people think that people with no pensions in place should be allowed to remain in the workforce after retirement age.

And the research found that nearly three-quarters of those surveyed want the Government to introduce a mandatory pensions savings scheme for all Irish workers over the age of 18.

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