If you can, the best way to increase your retirement income and bring your income closer to your desired living standard is to save more money into your pensions.

There are some steps you can follow to make sure you're making the most of saving into your pensions.

Make sure you're enrolled in your workplace pension scheme Your employer must put you in a pension scheme, and contribute money each month if you meet a few criteria. Check with your employer that you are enrolled in a pension scheme. If not, you can ask them to enrol you.

Top up your pensions by saving more You can save into your pension pot to increase your retirement income. This is called Additional Voluntary Contributions, or AVCs.

Monthly contributions

The easiest way to save into your pension is with a monthly amount through your salary.

You can increase, decrease, stop or start at any time. To start saving or change how much you save, head to PensionsOnline.

Saving a lump sum

Saving a lump sum can be a great way to give your pension a big boost. But be careful, you only receive tax relief on your taxable earnings.

If you are thinking of saving a large amount, speak to a financial adviser first to check how much tax you can claim back.

As you will have already paid tax on your lump sum, you can claim the tax back by completing a self-assessment tax return at www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns

HMRC usually refunds you after the tax year has ended.