UK - Almost half of the UK's working population is not currently contributing to a pension scheme, although a third claim this is because of affordability issues, according to research from the Society of Pension Consultants (SPC).

The survey of 714 people aged 18 years and over, also revealed 45% of respondents aged between 55-64 years old admitted they do not currently contribute to a pension.

The findings from the survey, conducted in July, showed 46% of workers do not save in a pension, while 32% of those eligible to join a pension plan said they have been "unable" to save towards retirement.

The SPC also claimed the research showed a "worrying lack of engagement in retirement funding", as the results revealed 21% of workers with pensions only review their decisions once a year.

Further figures from the survey said 13% of respondents claimed to have no knowledge about their pension scheme's decisions, and only 17% of workers admitted to being actively involved in decision-making in their scheme.

Duncan Howorth, president of the SPC, said: "The continued ageing of the UK's population means that the government needs to put education about retirement planning higher on its agenda than ever before, particularly during these challenging financial times with so many competing demands on people's purses."

However, he pointed out workers should also make more of an effort in planning for retirement through the "better use" of occupational schemes "by taking up the scheme offered to them and investing more substantially".

Findings from the SPC survey, which are expected to be published in full in November, follows recent research from the Fair Investment Company which revealed workers in the UK only contribute an average of 4% of their wages each month.

Figures suggested men tend to contribute slightly more of their annual wages, around 6%, but while women generally live longer the results showed they pay on average 50% less than male counterparts.

Sharon Bratley, chartered financial planner at Fair Investment, said: "The results suggest that future pensioners are going to struggle to survive on their pension annuities as between 4-6% of earnings is not a sufficient contribution".

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