Half of British adults aged between 20 and 60 are not saving anything for a pension, according to a survey commissioned by the BBC.

The study of 1,358 people indicated the situation was worst among under-30s, with only about one in three, or 36%, putting anything into a scheme. Many say they cannot afford it – they are too hard pressed paying off debts.

As for 41 to 60-year-olds, 45% are not currently paying into a pension fund.

The report suggested a number of reasons for this, ranging from people who had been made redundant to women who had never joined a pension scheme because of leaving full-time work to have children.

Even though only 36% of respondents under 30 had a private pension, half of all those who took part in the survey said they were still confident they would be able to live a comfortable retirement.

The government is trying to mitigate the impact of a potential pension "time bomb" with the introduction of Personal Accounts, which are due to be rolled out in 2012.

Personal Accounts will be a state-sponsored pension scheme, in which employees will be automatically enrolled, contributing 4% of their salary. The employer will pay 3% and a further 1% will come from tax relief.

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