HALF of Britons admit they have no idea how much money they need to save in order to have a comfortable retirement, new research shows.

Women are less likely than men to have a clear idea of the amount they need to set aside, with 63% admitting they did not know how much money they would need to have the retirement they wanted, compared with just 44% of men.

At the same time 63% of people aged over 65, most of whom have probably retired already, said they did not have a clear idea of the size of a pension pot that was needed for a comfortable retirement, according to Abbey.

Around 16% of those questioned thought they would be able to retire on less than £50,000, despite the fact that an annuity of this size would provide people with an annual income of just £3,568 or £304 a month.

A further 12% of those questioned thought £100,000 would be enough, although this would give them a pension of only around £7,329 a year.

Reza Attar-Zadeh, Abbey’s head of savings, said, “Clearly Britons are not saving enough for their retirement.

“This is of particular concern, with the move from final salary schemes to money purchase schemes.”

ICM questioned 1,000 people during October.