Brits get pensions warning

British consumers have been warned that their current saving habits could lead them to face serious financial problems when they come to retire.

With millions of consumers already dealing with debt management issues, a panel of experts assembled by Prudential has suggested that the UK could be heading for a “catastrophic income and retirement crisis”.

In fact, part of the problem for younger generations of Britons is that paying off their student debts leaves them unable to start saving for retirement until later in life, according to the team making an assessment on behalf of Prudential.

Paul Fife, managing director of independent financial advisor Equus commented: “People are not given enough skills to deal with money. Advice is being forced upmarket.

“You need to start planning your pension when you start working. Most people have no idea how difficult it is to build up a pension.”

Earlier this year, the Consumer Credit Counselling Service warned that the UK’s debt management burden will increasingly shift to more elderly generations.