According to analysis from Prudential, the average UK worker earns £26,664 a year, with those on a company pension scheme receiving employer contributions of £2,232 a year (8.4% of annual salary) and contributing £945 themselves (3.5%), making a total of £3,177 (11.9%) annually in pension contributions.

Over the course of an average working life, the average employer contributions alone add up to £91,512 and self-employed workers, who can’t join a company pension scheme, will miss out on this substantial contribution towards their retirement funding.

Stan Russell, retirement expert at Prudential, said: “Self-employed workers have to be even more proactive when it comes to saving for retirement, as they can’t benefit from employer contributions in a company pension scheme. Saving into a pension gives valuable tax relief, while professional financial advice can be helpful in ensuring that they’re saving enough for a comfortable retirement.

“We know from our research that a significant proportion of self-employed workers have no private pension and will rely solely on the State Pension in retirement. Often this is because they have prioritised the needs of their business over saving into a pension.

“However, the State Pension alone is not enough for a good standard of living in retirement, which is why saving as much as possible into a pension from an early stage is crucial.”

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The report found the level of employer contributions differs significantly by industry.

Public administration and defence employers contribute the highest proportion of annual salary at 15.2%, equivalent to £4,439 per year.

The finance and insurance sector workers receive bigger monetary contributions from their employers, averaging £6,067 a year (11.7% of annual salary), on account of their typically higher salaries.