What a surprise! Most people don’t know there is such a thing as a tax-free lump sum, paid on retirement, that comes as part of a pension scheme. That’s according to the results of a survey of 1,000 people taken by Standard Life.

Only four out of ten respondents were aware of the lump sum, up four percentage points on the previous year. And among those aged under 34, only 30% know about the tax free payout. That didn’t stop them starting to save, though. People in pension schemes started saving, on average, at the age of 23, which Standard Life sees as encouraging.

As to the lump sum itself, the average value is €31,000 and the maximum under Revenue rules goes up to €200,000. Which in turn indicates that pension pots range from an average of about €125,000 up to €800,000 or more.

And if you still don’t know by the time you retire, well then what a nice surprise. “€30,000 is not to be sniffed at — it could buy a new car, a good holiday and/or a new kitchen,” said John McInerney of Standard Life. “If you’re entitled to the €200,000, you’d probably be thinking of a bigger car, kitchen, a holiday — and have a nice savings pot tucked away too.”

He went on to repeat the sector’s usual advice: “Start saving  in your early 20s and prevent the stress of ‘catch-up’ saving in later years.”

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Unsurprisingly, those who are retired, have a pension and have used a financial advisor are more likely to know about all that tax-free lolly. And men are more likely to know than women, 46% to 35%.