A private sector worker wishing to build up a pension equal to that of a long-serving career civil servant would need contributions equal to 37 per cent of pay, a new analysis shows.

According to a study by PwC, the professional services firm, a civil servant who is a college graduate and rises through the ranks over a 40-year career will have a pension roughly 2½ times that of a private sector worker beginning a career at the same time and retiring at the same date.