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The warning follows yesterday's (26 June) comments by Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King that inflation could exceed 4 per cent in the short-term. FundsNetwork has warned that many savers are at risk because their regular contributions are fixed at a flat rate.

The company said that the real value of £1,000 in savings (in spending terms), would more than halve to £456 in just 20 years at current levels of price rises.

David Dalton-Brown, head of Fidelity FundsNetwork, said: "We haven't really had to worry too much about inflation over the past decade. The Bank of England has been very successful at keeping the consumer price index (CPI) close to its target of 2 per cent. However, rising fuel and food prices are pushing up inflation around the world.

"With CPI in the UK forecast to top 4 per cent, there is a real danger that many retirement plans will go off track if regular contributions are not increased."

He added: "With the recent volatility in investment markets, some clients may be tempted to wait until conditions improve. However, with regular contributions offering the benefit of pound-cost averaging, this can be an ideal way to keep clients' pension funding on track in times of turbulence."