The latest Scottish Widows annual Pensions Report has revealed that retirement provision in the UK remains consistently low.

It found that 49% of those who should be saving for retirement are failing to do so adequately. This has never been below 46% or over 52% over the last five years.

Meanwhile, a fifth of people are failing to make any provision at all for their retirement.

The Scottish Widows Pensions Index – looking at those between 30 years-old and state pension age who earn more than £10,000 per year – shows that only 51% of the current generation of potential savers are making sufficient provisions for their retirement. This drops to around 25% when those with a final salary pension are excluded.

This comes despite the fact that 73% of people recognise the need to take personal responsibility for their retirement planning.

Scottish Widows’ Average Savings Ratio – which tracks the percentage of income being saved for retirement by UK workers not expecting to get their main retirement income from a final salary pension – remains at just over 9%. This is a 3% shortfall from the 12% Scottish Widows believe people should be saving to achieve a comfortable retirement.

Ian Naismith, head of pensions market development for Scottish Widows, said: “This year’s report clearly illustrates the stark difficulty we face in helping people to recognise the urgent need to take personal responsibility for their future. We need a step-change to overcome this ingrained inertia and help people prepare for their retirement.””