Couples looking to enjoy a comfortable retirement together need to be putting away at least £131 per month if they start saving from 20, nearly £200 if they start saving from 30 or over £600 a month if they put off saving until 50, research suggests.

A survey from Which? found that on average, retired couples found they needed £18,000 a year to cover household essentials - such as food, utilities, transport and housing costs - rising to £26,000 allowing for extras including European holidays and leisure activities.

Which? said that to generate an annual income of £26,000 a couple would need a defined contribution (DC) pension pot of £210,000 in today's money, alongside the state pension.

The consumer group calculated that, based on current retirement ages and state pension entitlements, couples starting from scratch need to be saving £131 a month combined if they start from age of 20 to achieve this goal, £198 a month if they start aged 30, £338 a month if they start aged 40 and £633 a month if they start from the age of 50.

Which? assumed that the sum saved receives tax relief at 20%, and the sum saved is assumed to grow by 3% a year after charges.

Gareth Shaw, money expert at Which? said: "When it comes to saving for your retirement: start early and save often. Being a part of your company pension scheme is a good start, but, depending on how much you contribute, you could well need to save a little more to have the lifestyle you want in retirement."

People looking for help with planning for their retirement can use Which?'s free online guide at which.co.uk/saveforretirement.

The Government-backed free Pension Wise guidance service is also available for those approaching retirement.

More than 1,500 retired couples took part in the survey.