According to Des Hamilton, technical director for the Pensions Advisory Service, a number of adults are not aware of how much they need to be putting away into pension schemes to fund a comfortable lifestyle after retiring. And with such consumers set to witness a potential shortfall in their income upon giving up work, they may develop difficulties in making payments on mortgages, utility bills and personal loans.



Mr Hamilton reported that the nation is on course for money management problems in later life due to amendments to pension schemes, which in turn has seen many people make an inadequate level of contributions. He said: "It is left much more in the hands of the individual. Responsibility is more on the individual and at the moment people are just not doing enough."

The Pensions Advisory Service representative added that there is "a little bit of complacency" surrounding people's attitudes towards their finances. He pointed out that a number of people are leaning towards other methods of saving for the future, for instance relying on the amount of equity built up in their property as a means of funding their retirement.

"The trouble is people just don't appreciate how much it takes to provide for themselves properly in retirement". When you enter into a company pension scheme people think: "That's it now, I'm providing for my retirement," that the company's scheme is designed to give them adequate income in retirement, but it's not," the technical director added.

His comments come after research carried out by Mercer last month revealed that the level of money being put into company pension schemes is currently too low. According to the company, the present level of employer contributions - which stands at 6.8 per cent - is insufficient to support workers during retirement, while the shortfall in income may cause them to struggle with loan repayments and other demands on their spending. Meanwhile, consumers were also reported as missing out on potentially higher pension earnings as they fail to shop around for competitive annuities.

Consequently, those consumers who are concerned that the proportion of money they are currently putting into pension schemes may not be sufficient to provide them with their desired lifestyle upon retirement may wish to consider opting for a debt consolidation loan. In applying for such a loan, it is possible for borrowers to merge debts owed to various creditors, via credit cards and personal loans for instance, as well as other demands on their spending into one low-rate monthly repayment.

And by doing so, they may well find that they have more disposable income left to allow them to make greater pension contributions. However, Adrian Coles, director general for the Building Societies Association, recently warned those looking to take out a loan, whether it be for debt consolidation or for any other purpose, to make sure that they will always be in a position to afford repayments. He stated that the five base rate rises by the Bank of England since August 2006 are set to put further pressure on household spending, with debt consolidation loans one possible way of relieving such anxieties.