The report found that 37 per cent of those questioned were afraid of having nothing saved for when they finished their working life and it is believed that this has caused the rise in the Scottish Widows Pension Index, which tracks the number of people adequately saving for retirement that could feasibly do so. The increase from 49 per cent in 2007 to 51 per cent in 2008, however, shows that approximately half the nation are still not saving sufficiently, and while figures are up on previous years it is at least in part due to the rise in the number of non-pension savings, namely consumers saving more for the short term.

Interestingly, whilst men are still saving more than women – almost two thirds of those saving adequately are male - the gender gap has narrowed from 13 per cent last year to just nine per cent in 2008, with women more likely to save for the short term. Despite making up just a third of the work force, those working in the public sector accounted for 45 per cent of those saving adequately, and only 46 per cent of the 30 to 50 year olds questioned were doing so. Parents and the self-employed were found to be saving the least.

The report also discovered that around two fifths of those surveyed believed they were better off five years ago than they are now, with the credit crunch cited as being the main reason for this.