Plant early and fertilise and your pension will blossom...

HOW beautiful everything looks in full bloom - the rush of spring flowers followed by summer's glories.

- Rob Kenyon

The wonder of British strawberries, succulent asparagus and the delight of early new potatoes decked with butter. Yum!

But, as any gardener and allotment holder knows, all this beauty and bounty doesn’t come easy.

You've got to put in the hard work: sowing, watering, weeding and waiting patiently before you reap the rewards.

That's exactly how I think about pensions. If you don’t get your financial planting in early enough or fail to fertilise your money tree then old age can produce a rotten return.

Independent research statistics by the University of Loughborough for the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), show how much a single person and a couple might need to spend in retirement to achieve three different standards of living in the UK.

The ‘minimum’ lifestyle covers basic needs, but without a car and with one week's holiday a year in the UK. It includes around £95 a week to spend on groceries and £20 a week for eating out and takeaways.