Three quarters of Scots are approaching retirement age feeling unprepared, research has found.
Research from Phoenix Group found 75 per cent of Scottish adults between 40 and 66 don't feel ready for retirement, equivalent to almost 1.5mn people.
It found financial worries were overwhelming the driving factor behind this sense of feeling unprepared.
Around seven in 10 (69 per cent) were concerned they will not have enough savings to fund their retirement.
According to the PLSA Retirement Living Standards, adults need a minimum of £300,000 in savings at state pension age to achieve a ‘moderate’ standard of living in retirement.
However, just 8 per cent of over 40s asked said they had savings of this level, while 14 per cent said they had no retirement savings at all.
The research was carried out with the Diffley Partnership.
Founder Mark Diffley said it revealed women and those in more deprived areas were particularly vulnerable to being left unprepared at retirement.
He added: "Such discouraging findings require decision-makers to take notice and action, to ensure that everyone enters retirement with funds to live comfortably."
Gail Izat, managing director for workplace pensions at Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group said: "This research highlights the worrying level of under saving in Scotland and, sadly, we know the situation is similar in the rest of the UK."
The research highlighted regional differences. Glasgow reported the highest level of under saving, with 52 per cent of over 40s having under £51,000 in retirement savings and 20 per cent having no retirement savings at all.
Izat added: "The fact that a fifth of Glaswegians report no private retirement savings has wider societal implications, particularly as the state pension by itself falls short of even the PLSA’s minimum standard of living in retirement.
“It’s vital that we extend pensions auto-enrolment to bring more people into the scheme and give those who are already eligible a better chance of securing a decent retirement."
Catherine Foot, director of Phoenix Insights, said recent cost of living pressures and competing priorities makes it easy to overlook saving for retirement.
She said: "Often just thinking about your future finances can be the hardest step, but a good place to start is to seek guidance from your pension provider if you have one, or free online services such as MoneyHelper."
tara.o'connor@ft.com
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