More than half are saving too little for retirement with a fifth not putting anything away for old age Just 45% Britons making adequate provision for retirement, report says Lowest proportion in at least nine years and is down from 54% in 2009 Only 40% of women are putting aside enough money for their old age That figure is down from 42% last year and compares with 49% of men One worker in five is putting nothing aside for retirement, a report warns. A further third of Britons are not saving enough to avoid a dramatic fall in living standards in old age. It means only 45 per cent - less than half - are making adequate provision for retirement, a survey by Scottish Widows found. Looking ahead: Only 45 per cent - less than half - of Britons are making adequate provision for retirement That is the lowest proportion in at least nine years and down from 54 per cent in 2009. As the downward slide continues, the gender gap is increasing, with only 40 per cent of women putting aside enough money for their old age, down from 42 per cent last year and compared with 49 per cent of men. Workers are seen as preparing adequately if they save at least 12 per cent of their income or expect their main retirement pot to come from a "gold plated" defined benefit pension, typically one linked to final salary. Those saving less can still build a "worthwhile" income but risk seeing their living standards drop sharply after retirement. Someone retiring in their mid-60s faces receiving less than half the amount they would feel comfortable living on, the report found. The survey of more than 5,000 over-30s across the UK earning over £10,000 a year found that the typical income people feel they will need in retirement is £25,200. But based on what people say they are putting away, they are more likely to end up living on less than half this - around £11,400 a year, including their private and state pension - Scottish Widows warns. The combined effect of the recession, stagnant wages, people having debts later into life and longer life expectancy is making it tougher to put enough money by. A third of those who have retired still have some form of debt to pay off, the survey found. Around a quarter of over-50s have a mortgage, while a similar proportion use a credit card and one in 12 has a non-mortgage loan. Ian Naismith, a pensions expert at Scottish Widows, said: "People are now less prepared for retirement than at the height of the downturn a few years ago, yet expectations for income in retirement are still increasing. As a nation we must either prioritise saving for the future and prepare accordingly, or seriously adjust our outlook for old age. Scottish Widows says that the decline in defined benefit pensions is not being compensated for by people making adequate contributions into pensions that provide a lump sum on retirement which is invested to provide income. Such schemes have in any case been badly affected by plummeting annuity rates. As a nation we must either prioritise saving for the future and prepare accordingly, or seriously adjust our outlook for old age Ian Naismith, Scottish Widows To tackle the savings crisis, the Government is rolling out a scheme to ensure everyone has a workplace pension. Automatic enrolment began last autumn with firms that employ more than 120,000 staff, and up to 11million people will be new savers or saving more as the scheme is extended to smaller firms over the next five years. Further reforms, including introducing a simpler flat-rate state pension, are also in the pipeline as part of Government and industry plans to make saving more attractive, fairer and easier to understand.