Brits are showing signs of a shift away from pensions savings over recent years, according to The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS).

TPAS maintains that many people approaching retirement are no longer saving towards a pension, due to a number of factors including stretched affordability and increased dependence of adult children on their ageing periods.

Figures from the Office of National Statistics reveal that personal pensions accounted for three per cent of pensioners’ income in 2005- 06, whereas state benefits accounted for almost half. Occupational schemes represented a quarter.

Malcolm McLean, TPAS chief executive, argues that the pressure to pay off debt means that many consumers need to continue working and as such find it difficult to build an adequate pensions savings pot.

“In many cases they have to help their children get on the property ladder, which has meant that some people still have large mortgages to pay off before they retire,” he added.

The Prudential Retirement Income Panel reports that the UK’s pension crisis is set to worsen in the coming years.

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