"Unrealistic" savings mean Scots face retirement misery RETIRED Scots are struggling to keep their finances afloat after discovering their pension savings are not going as far as they had expected, a new report has warned. More than one in three Scots are getting less income in retirement than they had expected, including 17 per cent who say they are having to get by on significantly less than they thought they would have. The findings emerged in a Scottish Widows report which claimed that working-age Scots are "waking up to the reality" that they will struggle in retirement unless they put more money aside in advance. The research comes just weeks before the long-awaited launch of landmark reforms that could see up to ten million people saving into workplace pensions for the first time. From next month the UK's largest employers will have to automatically enrol their workers into an occupational pension scheme, if they are not already in one. Smaller employers will follow suit over the coming years, yet more than half of Scottish workers said they had no idea of the changes taking place, according to Scottish Widows. Workers will have the right to opt out of the new scheme and 13 per cent of those in Scotland intend to do so, above the UK average. The report was published earlier this week, but new findings from the study reveal that Scots would now be willing to work until they are almost 67 if they have to. The survey also shows that 37 per cent of Scots now in retirement admit they had not prepared adequately for it, higher than the UK average of one third. Scottish workers are now prepared to pay £93.96 of their earnings into their pension, up from £38.90 just a year ago. Lynn Graves, head of business development for corporate pensions at Scottish Widows, said: "This, combined with the national trend towards a growing recognition that individuals need to take more responsibility for their own retirement planning, would indicate that Scots are taking retirement planning seriously." But Brian Steeples, managing director at Glasgow IFA The Turris Partnership, warned that many people remain over-complacent about their savings efforts. "Too many people take the view that "I'm paying into a pension plans so retirement is one less thing to worry about." This is a disastrous approach," he said. A separate report out today underlines the yawning gap between income expectations in retirement and what people are actually saving in preparation for it. Over 55s want to have saved almost £100,000 on average by the time they come to take their pension, according to HSBC. Yet the average saver aged over 55 is on target to have generated a retirement cash pot of just £31,900. Younger age groups are more likely to hit their targets - partly because their savings expectations are more realistic, said HSBC. Bruno Genovese, head of savings at the bank, said: "The increased financial responsibility that many people face around their mid 30s, such as buying a house, having children and taking on more debt, seems to be hindering long-term savings habits, despite the good intentions. This divides UK savers between younger generations with the potential to meet their long-term savings goals and older generations who have higher and more realistic aspirations but have often left it too late to achieve them.