Many people in the UK are not paying nearly enough into pension funds to ensure financial security after retirement, according to the Association of Consulting Actuaries. Their survey of pension trends in small firms also showed that money purchase pension schemes are typically falling well short of final salary schemes, while also leaving the members to bear the risk of investment.

The survey identifies a widespread "contribution gap" which could be made worse by other factors including early retirement, reduced returns on investment, improved life expectancy, and gaps in the working career. For the first time in 40 years, less than half of the workforce are covered by occupational pensions, and a quarter of the workforce now work for companies who don't offer any pension scheme at all. ACA say that this shortfall in pension provision is not being made up by individual savings plans.