The latest report by Scottish Widows also found those aged between 30 and 50 are falling behind older people in saving for retirement.
Some 59% of those aged over 50 are preparing financially for their retirement compared with 47% of those aged 30 to 50.
The survey also suggests savings in the UK are at a lower level than in France, Germany and Spain.
“We appreciate the difficulty in setting aside extra money,” said Ian Naismith (pictured), from Scottish Widows.
“The message is that everyone should be putting aside as much as they can afford for their retirement.”
The survey suggested that, on average, people would like £24,300 a year to live comfortably at the age of 70, and aim to retire just short of their 62nd birthdays.
Pensions experts say it would require a large pension pot to be saved by each individual to achieve this level of retirement income, and the report suggested that people were falling some way short, the BBC reports.
Some 49% of those surveyed were not making adequate provision for their retirement – defined as saving at least 12% of earnings a year, Scottish Widows concluded.
This figure has never been below 46% or above 52% in the equivalent surveys from the past five years.
Meanwhile, Scottish Widows called for a change to the terminology used by the government that would make people aware of how much support they would receive from the state.
This could include expressing the proposed flat-rate state pension as £7,300 a year, rather than £140 a week, it suggested.
