More than a quarter of British adults have made no provision for their retirement.

The number of men and women aged 30 to 49 who say they have “no form of pension” has increased to 26 per cent from 20 per cent a year ago, says financial services provider Alliance Trust.

Things get even bleaker when you separate out the sexes, with nearly a third (31 per cent) of women admitting they haven’t any pension provision, compared to 23 per cent in 2006.

The figures for men are only slightly better at 22 per cent and 17 per cent respectively.

I’m staggered.

Who on earth do they think is going to provide for them in old age if they don’t do it themselves?

Certainly not the state. Have you checked out state pension rates recently?

Consumers’ organisation Which? says the average person reckons they will need an income of £312 a week to enjoy a comfortable retirement.

But the basic weekly state pension for a single person is just £87.30 – and, contrary to popular belief, this isn’t an automatic right.

To qualify, men need to have paid 44 full years of National Insurance contributions and women 39.

Assuming you have, pension credit will top this up to £119.05, which means that if you don’t do something about it, you could be almost £193 a week – or more than £10,000 a year – short.

That’s an awful lot of money to do without, and it’s likely to put all but the most basic necessities out of reach.

The solution? It’s simple – start saving right now!

It’s not just the young who seem to lack a sense of financial responsibility (see previous post).

The UK’s OAPs owe £57 billion – yes, £57 billion – on mortgages and credit cards.

Research from Scottish Widows reveals that around one in five retired homeowners are still paying a mortgage.

They have an average debt of £38,000, with one in eight owing more than £50,000.

And almost one in three have had an outstanding balance on their credit cards for the past three months. Here, the average debt is £5,900.

Lord knows how some of them are managing the repayments.

With a full basic state pension of just £87.30 a week for a single person and £139.60 for a couple, it hardly bears thinking about.

I know it’s easier said than done, but if you want to avoid this kind of misery in retirement, there are just two steps you need to take:

1) Pay off your debts as fast as you can. Then…

2) Start saving as much as you can for retirement.

It’s that simple.

Contrary to popular opinion, the state pension is not a universal right.

To qualify, you need to have paid National Insurance contributions for a set number of years.

That’s why whenever I write about pensions, I advise readers to get a forecast of their state entitlement from the Pension Service.

This will tell them if they need to fill in any contribution gaps – and show just how little the state will be paying them.

The Government is keen to focus people’s minds on sorting out workplace or personal provision to keep them above the breadline, and the shock of reading a forecast tends to do just that.

So I was surprised to learn from an IFA contact this week that the Pension Service has stopped providing forecasts.

Apparently, it’s down to a computer systems update and its forecasting service won’t be operational again until autumn 2008 – yes, that’s 2008.

Thanks guys!

In the meantime, if you want to find out more about your state pension entitlement, you could always try ringing their helpline on 0845 300 0168.

While on the subject of pensions, another correspondent asks, “Can someone please clarify the amount of the basic state pension for me, as I am getting nearer my retirement date and it is very important to me.”

This question isn’t as simple to answer as you might imagine.

That’s because, contrary to what most people think, a full basic state pension – which is currently £87.30 a week – is not an automatic right.

To qualify for a minimum pension – worth just a quarter of the basic weekly amount – men must pay full-rate National Insurance contributions for 11 tax years and women for 10.

To get the full basic pension men need 44 years and women 39 – though this will fall to 30 years for both sexes from 2010.

If your contribution record is patchy, depending on when you’re due to retire, it may be worth making back payments to increase your entitlement.

To check your individual situation, get a forecast of your state pension entitlement.

A reader writes, “I have just lost 70 per cent of my final-salary pension entitlement because my solvent employer has wound up the scheme (with Tony Blair’s blessing).”

This is awful but by no means rare. The number of final-salary pension schemes has shrunk dramatically in recent years.

Employers say they are simply too expensive to operate, because they pay pensions based on members’ final earnings, rather than the pension fund’s investment performance.

Even if the fund does badly, the employer still has to cough up at the agreed rate – and this can be financially crippling.

Of course, this is no comfort at all to anyone who has paid in for years, expecting a decent pension when they retire.

The only thing to do now is to consult an independent financial adviser who specialises in pension provision and start salting away whatever you can afford to minimise your retirement shortfall.

I’m so sorry not to be able to say anything more positive.