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People are still not saving enough for their retirement, Liverpool Victoria says.
The credit crunch has led to a rising number of FREDs - or, people 'facing retirement earnings doubts' - in the UK.
According to insurance firm Liverpool Victoria, seven million people in the UK can be currently classified as FREDs. Numbers have been exacerbated, the firm said, by severe volatility on the global stock markets, the property slump and concerns that Britain will experience a sharp recession in the months to come.
Taken together these factors have the capability to severely impact retirement savings. Volatile markets generally damage the performance of pension investment funds, falling house prices lead to fewer and fewer people being able to use their property "as a pension" and negative GDP growth leads to rising unemployment, as newly unprofitable firms look to lay staff off to balance the books.
Liverpool Victoria's poll found that 20 percent of FREDs still have not saved anything towards their pension, despite their fears. Six in ten also told the firm that they had not had any financial advice on the subject.
Mike Rogers, group chief executive at Liverpool Victoria, said: "The number of FREDs has increased, indicating that pre-retired people across the UK are more concerned than ever about their retirement finances.
"Despite admitting these concerns, few of these people are seeking professional independent financial advice, which is worrying... It's never too early to start planning for this, especially in the current economic climate."
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