Graduates will face pension savings that are tens of thousands of pounds smaller as a result of their steep student loan repayments, new analysis suggests.

Since 2012 universities have been able to charge tuition fees of at least £9,000 a year, leaving the average student with around £50,000 of debt.

Experts predict three-quarters of people will not pay off their loans before the debt expires in 30 years.

Despite this, most graduates will repay far more than the starting value of their loans – and this could have serious implications for their long-term wealth.

Analysis from Royal London, the mutual insurer, shows how recent graduates could retire with pension pots as much as a fifth smaller than previous generations. In turn that could mean a loss of income of around £44,000 over a typical 25-year retirement.

A non-graduate earning around £17,500 (the average salary of school leavers) would end up with a pension of £85,000 at retirement, said Royal London. This compares to £185,000 from someone on a graduate salary (around £35,000) but without any student debt.

However, someone on the same salary, but with a £40,000 student loan, would only save £150,000 over their lifetime.

Assuming a 5pc annuity rate, that £35,000 gap equates to an annual income £1,750 lower for the graduate weighed down by their loan repayments. The analysis assumes the graduate with no debt puts half of what they would have spent on loan repayments into a pension instead.