As many as 12 million UK adults are unable to make contributions to their pensions, new research has shown.
Lincoln Financial Group said the payments are being avoided for a number of reasons, including paying for other day to day expenses.
"Clearly people’s finances are stretched at the moment. Unfortunately, this can lead some people to push pension contributions to the bottom of the priority list," commented Simon O’Connor, head of products and marketing at Lincoln Financial Group.
He added that increased life expectancy means people have to plan better for their financial futures, especially as figures from the Office for National Statistics show it is at the highest on record.
It found that females still live longer than males, although the gap is beginning to close.
Of those questioned by Lincoln Financial Group, 23 per cent said they do not pay into their pension due to the burden of existing loans and debts, which may be a reason to enlist the help of a debt management company.
The economic downturn, on the other hand, was found to be dissuading 17 per cent of UK adults from contributing money to their pensions.