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Pension experts have warned that UK workers are at risk of a “retirement crisis” unless the government acts to raise the amount they pay into workplace schemes, a move that was omitted from Labour’s pensions bill in the King’s Speech.

The government’s proposals for pension reforms, put forward on Wednesday, stopped short of requiring companies and employees to lift the minimum amounts they contribute to “auto-enrolment” schemes, which many industry observers have long argued are inadequate.

The proposals aim to boost the retirement pots of more than 15mn private sector workers, and include initiatives such as helping employees to keep track of their pensions when they move jobs and introducing value for money tests for schemes.

But industry professionals highlighted the urgency of increasing minimum contributions, which currently stand at 8 per cent of pensionable salary, of which companies must pay at least 3 per cent and employees 5 per cent.

“It’s really important — just getting more money in is really a top priority and unfortunately that’s been very, very slow,” said Sir Steve Webb, a former pensions minister who is now partner at actuarial adviser Lane, Clark & Peacock.

Tom Selby, director of public policy at investment site AJ Bell, said although auto-enrolment had “succeeded in increasing the number of people saving something for retirement”, the government will “need to address the question of pensions adequacy”.

He said there is “consensus” that contributions need to be raised to “stave off a future retirement crisis”, but cautioned that ministers will have to be careful not to raise them too much otherwise workers might pull out of the pension scheme.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, which represents UK schemes, has urged the government to lift the minimum contribution level over the next decade from the current 8 per cent of pensionable earnings — a worker’s basic salary before bonuses, commission and overtime — to 12 per cent of total salary, with employees and employers paying an equal share.

“Without further policy intervention, most people in the UK will retire with inadequate pension income,” the PLSA said last month.

The government said its pension bill measures could deliver an extra £11,000 to the pension pot of an average worker, though it did not provide any supporting analysis on how the this figure was reached. The bill included an initiative to ensure schemes provide “value for money”, with poorly performing funds driven out of the market. In addition, there are plans to provide employers with more options to offload their defined benefit schemes to help protect members if their employer, which funds the schemes, is weak.

The government said the measures would “enable security in retirement” while allowing pension schemes to invest in a wider range of assets, which should in turn help to support economic growth.

Members of defined contribution schemes — those used by most private sector workplaces and in which the saver bears all the risk — “are much less likely to enjoy a comfortable retirement compared to those on DB [defined benefit] pensions”, according to a report last year by Scottish Widows. It said this reflects how “too little is being saved by many under default automatic enrolment savings rates”.

Currently, individuals can be left on their own to navigate a complex retirement income market. The government intends to require trustees to offer a retirement income solution, such as an annuity or drawdown product, for those wishing to remain invested.

Kirsty Anderson, retirement specialist at wealth manager Quilter, said choosing how to withdraw from a pension — known as decumulation — “can be treacherous, particularly without expert help, and savers can easily see their retirement pots run dry before they pass away”.

She added: “By placing duties on trustees of occupational pension schemes to offer a retirement income solution or range of solutions, including default investment options, the government hopes to improve outcomes for savers and lead to more funds being invested for longer.”