Six out of ten people of working age do not have a private pension, shock statistics reveal

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Six out of ten people of working age are not contributing to a private or company pension, it emerged today.

New data from the Office of National Statistics revealed that in 2005 to 2006, only 39 per cent of those in employment had made independent provision for their retirement.

The information reinforces doom-laden predictions that many people risk being impoverished when they finish work.

It has also emerged that half of all single pensioners are having to get by on incomes of less than £6,000 a year.

Pensions are providing people with only modest incomes, with 62 per cent of couples receiving less than £10,000 a year from them during 2005 to 2006, while half of single people got less than £6,000.

Around two-thirds of pensioners have some form of private pension, but for many people this provided income of less than £1,000 a year, according to ONS.

Four out of 10 pensioner couples, 55 per cent of single men and 61 per cent of single women received less than four figures a year from their private pension in 2005/2006.

The situation also looks set to get worse in future years, as just 39 per cent of people of working age were paying into a private pension scheme during the year.

The figures showed that the average retired couple received £2,115 a year from private pensions in 2005/2006, while single men had an annual income of £1,553 and single women received £1,238.

But the majority of pensioners had their income topped up by state benefits, with these providing the bulk of many people's income.

Pensioner couples received an average of £7,296 a year from the state, while single men and women were paid £5,259 and £5,496 respectively.

The research found that in 2006, a third of working men and 53 per cent of working women expected to retire before they were 65.

But almost half of those who had yet to give up work had no idea what their retirement income would be, although 30 per cent expected the state pension to be their main source of money.