Only 10% of respondents said saving for retirement is a priority and just 2% prioritise saving into a pension, according to research by Capita Employee Benefits.
The research, which surveyed 3,000 employees through Research Now, found that Britons are prioritising day-to-day living costs (46%), repaying debt (32%), saving for a holiday (27%) and saving for a rainy day (12%).
Robin Hames (pictured), head of marketing at Capita Employee Benefits, said: “With more immediate financial pressures, from paying off a credit card, to doing the weekly shop, it is hard to picture and plan for the long-term future.
“However, the issue with failing to prioritise long-term savings, and specifically pensions, is that it can quickly become a case of too little too late. If you don’t start saving early and make a concerted effort, retirement can quickly become an impossible dream.
“Auto-enrolment will help many to get started on saving for retirement and so far we’ve seen low opt-out rates. While this is, of course, positive, it’s important that people don’t see the fact that they’ve been automatically enrolled into their workplace pension scheme as guaranteeing sufficient income in retirement.
“It will only be through increasing contributions and taking more of a hands-on approach to long-term savings that will allow people to have a comfortable retirement.”