A survey recently commissioned in the United Kingdom by the BBC indicates that around half of adults aged between 20 and 60 do not have any kind of pension plan.

The survey of 1,358 people by GfK NOP - a leading market research and consumer insight agency, suggests the situation was worst among under 30s, with around 1 in 3 - 36% putting anything aside towards pension schemes or savings accounts.

Many young people cannot afford to make contributions, with a number trading it with paying off debts such as credit cards or loans.

The survey showed that 45 percent of those aged between 41 and 60 are not actively paying towards a pension fund.

There are a number of reasons for this, including the high level of unemployment in todays turbulent climate, and is also due to many women never joining a pension scheme due to leaving employment to start a family.

The majority of the younger age group with no pension scheme claimed that they had never appled for a one due to lack of knowledge around getting it set up, or were reluctant to begin planning for retirement at the moment as it seemed so far away.

Although 36 percent of respondents aged below 30 had a pension, around 50 percent of respondents said that they felt confident that they would have a comfortable retirement.

Ed Gardner, chief executive of UK retirement and savings at pension and insurance firm Metlife, said young people shouldn’t assume that this would be the case. The days of generous final salary pension schemes are diminishing, so the next generation of pension planners may end up relying on defined contribution pension schemes, which generally offer lower returns.

“Unfortunately the tide has turned and younger people face even more challenges in saving for their retirement” said Mr Gardner.

People may need to decide exactly how much money they will need in order to be retired by the age of 65, with enough to cover up to about 25 years.

“What you will find is that many people are currently saving nowhere near enough,” Mr Gardner said.