Half of those without a pension would consider taking one out if they could access some of their funds before retirement, a survey by Standard Life showed.

The poll, released yesterday, also found that 40 per cent of those with a pension would contribute more if they could access some of the funds before they actually retire.

Michael Leahy, chief executive of Standard Life, said Ireland's pensions coverage could be dramatically increased if a more flexible approach was adopted.

"The big barrier to the Government's goal of increasing pensions coverage, especially amongst the young, is the fear of locking funds away until they are 65," he said.

Currently, only just over half of the Irish workforce is saving for retirement through a pension, according to the Pensions Board, a number the Government is looking to increase significantly.

The reasons for the lack of retirement provision vary according to the survey, which found that almost a third of those without a pension say they are "too young" to be saving for retirement, while 11 per cent claim to have "never thought about it".

Another problem, when it comes to pensions is affordability. According to the poll, a fifth of the 951 adults questioned, said they couldn't afford to save for a pension.

Mr Leahy said that at the age of 24, retirement seems a long way away and people have different priorities.

However, if they had the reassurance that they could access some of their pension savings for specific future needs then they might be more keen to start saving, he said.

In the US, individuals can make withdrawals from their pension funds at any time without penalty provided the funds are used for higher education, first home purchase or certain medical expenses. This is something the Government may want to consider, Mr Leahy said.