Half the population 'not saving for retirement'

This week is the Institute of Financial Planning's 'Financial Planning Week'. A new survey for the national campaign reveals we are a nation with money worries.

In summary, the YouGov survey found:

• Two thirds of women and more than half of men worry about money all the time, or at least most of the time.
• Only one in five people feel they are currently saving enough for the future.
• Almost half worry they don't have enough savings to retire comfortably - over half of women feel this way.
• 14% have never contributed to a pension
• 31% don't contribute to a pension at the moment, but have done before.
• Unsurprisingly, 77% of the people surveyed said having more money would bring them happiness.

It seems many people are worried about their finances. 14% admitted they didn't have a clue how to improve their own financial situation. Only 4% said they would go to a professional for help with their financial planning. An encouraging 33% said they would try to repay debt to improve their financial situation in the long-term.

A spokesperson for debt management company Gregory Pennington commented: "Saving for the future should be considered an absolute necessity. If you can picture yourself at 70 years old, consider whether you'd still like to be working.

"People with existing debt face an additional challenge to save every month. A practical step is to draw up a realistic budget and address spending. A debt expert can help anyone with debt problems to create a personal budget that includes affordable debt repayments as well as 'spare' income for savings or emergencies."