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A third of Britons can’t afford to save for their retirement, research from Scottish Widows has found.

Its survey also suggests that people are worried about how they will cope when they give up work, and showed almost half of respondents were not saving enough for a comfortable retirement.

Only 51 per cent of people are putting aside enough money to provide an adequate income once they stop working.

Rising living costs and the affects of the credit crunch seem to be affecting the nation’s saving abilities.

Ian Naismith, from Scottish Widows, says: “While pensions savings are slowly starting to rise, there is still the real worry that in the current economic environment the nation is not doing enough to prepare for retirement.”

Pensions Minister Mike O’Brien says: “The message must be clear – people should save and save early. This will make all the difference to their retirement incomes.”

Chiltern’s Nathan Gladwell says: “The cost of living has increased pressures on household finances and unfortunately pensions aren’t the highest priority for those who are struggling with debt.

“Whilst it’s important to save for the future, many people can’t afford to because they simply don’t have any money left at the end of the month, after payments to loans, credit and store cards.

An informal arrangement with Chiltern prioritises debts for customers so bills are paid, but means that an adequate standard of living can still be maintained. On a debt management programme a monthly allowance is given to cover essentials, along with expenditure such as a mobile phone and basic satellite TV package.

One in three Britons ‘unable to save’ is a post from: TheDebtPeople.co.uk