Joanne Segars, head of pensions and savings at the ABI, said: “The Pensions Bill is a golden opportunity for the government to take concrete, comprehensive action to further boost confidence in savings.

“One in four people questioned in our original Pensions and Savings Index [September last year] said the existence of a Pension Protection Fund would increase their trust in pensions. The government must stand behind the PPF and make absolutely sure that it is sustainable, delivers on promises and does not give false hope. But the Bill must go beyond this if we are to close the £27 billion savings gap. “

The ABI also called for an affordable package of incentives for pensions advice in the workplace, and to encourage employers to contribute to their employee pensions schemes.

Ms Segars added: “The government has put forward some strong, workable reforms on defined benefit schemes. But we will continue to urge them to rid defined contribution schemes of archaic and inconsistent rules.”