• Women fall further behind in providing for the future
• A quarter of Britons have no private pension plan

Worries about the recession are causing people to ignore warnings about the pensions gap, with the number of people saving enough for an adequate income in retirement remaining static in the past year, according to a pension report published on Tuesday.

While the percentage of those saving adequate amounts has increased in the past year from 51% to 54%, the Scottish Widows UK Pensions report found the gender gap has increased, with only 47% of women saving enough compared with 59% of men. Women over the age of 50 have been hit hardest, with 5% fewer likely to have an adequate pension.

Ian Naismith, head of pensions market development for Scottish Widows, attributed the decline in women’s savings to the effect of the recession on household incomes: he believes they may be using money that could otherwise be saved to ensure their children are not adversely affected by spending cuts.

“Retirement is way down in most women’s priorities compared to providing for their families,” he said.

The survey, conducted by YouGov for Scottish Widows, questioned 5,000 people in the UK over the age of 30 and earning £10,000 a year or more.

Despite the level of pension savings increasing steadily year on year, one quarter of Britons do not expect to receive any income from a private pension, rising to 31% among those in households with earnings between £10,000 and £30,000. Among the self-employed, the figure was even higher, at 35%.

Even among those entitled to join a defined contribution company pension – where payouts are based on stockmarket performance – one in five have failed to take advantage of the fact their employer is likely to cover the running costs and make contributions on their behalf.

These findings are backed by a similar survey from the employee benefits company Foster Denovo, which found that more than a third of adults in Britain who are not already retired have not joined a personal or company pension scheme.

More than a quarter of people aged between 25 and 44 did not have any provisions – such as property, inheritance or savings – in place for retirement, while 11% of this age group said that they had not yet considered how they would cope financially at the end of their working life.

The survey also found that more than two-thirds (68%) of non-retired men in Britain have a pension, compared with 60% of women. Ian Bird, senior partner at Foster Denovo, said: “This figure is likely to be representative of women’s childcare commitments, but it is clearly an issue that the pensions industry must address. It needs to look at what support it can provide to reverse this trend.”

The government aims to increase the number of people saving for their retirement with the introduction of the personal account, a simple self-enrolment pension scheme run by employers, in 2012. But critics say that those on low incomes will struggle to escape the effects of the pension credit, a means-tested benefit designed to top up pensioners’ incomes, to £130 a week in the current tax year. The benefit is reduced by a taper for those with private pension savings.

Their claims are supported by the Scottish Widows’ report, which found that 32% of those aged 65 to 69 had been personally affected by means tests in retirement.

Even those who are managing to save sufficient amounts now are likely to fall back in the future as companies cut back on or close final-salary schemes. Ian Naismith said: “Of the 54% who are saving adequate amounts, two-thirds are in final-salary pension schemes, so their future prospects might not be so good.”

Last week 96% of companies (out of a sample of 156 questioned by the accountancy PricewaterhouseCoopers) said they thought tax changes had made final-salary schemes unsustainable in the future.

Despite the low interest rates of the last nine months, most people questioned by Scottish Widows thought cash ISAs were the safest form of investment, with 72% saying they were very or quite safe.

The survey found that people below the age of 30 now see cash savings, including ISAs, as the main way to ensure a reasonable standard of living in retirement.