The value of property owned by Britain’s buy-to-let investors is fast approaching the value of the entire workforce’s pension savings built up over decades of employment, according to The Telegraph.

At £1.25 trillion, the value of the flats and houses owned by almost 2m small-time landlords is catching up with the £1.6trn total amassed in workers’ pension schemes.

Also, while traditional pension saving is complex and unpopular with many, the phenomenon of buying-to-let is now growing at its fastest rate ever, spurred by rising rents and house prices plus cheap mortgages.

The Government’s recent pension changes, which will apply from 2015 and enable savers to spend pension proceeds freely, are expected to add to the desire to make a property investment pay you your pension.

However, the report warns that ‘a high proportion of landlord borrowers are not earning enough monthly rent to survive even a modest increase in mortgage rates.’