Research by Scottish Widows has found that the proportion of people saving adequately for retirement has sunk to its  lowest level since 2006 as the effects of the economic downturn take their toll.

The Scottish Widows Pensions index - a barometer measuring those saving for retirement adequately - has fallen by 6 per cent this year to 48 per cent. According to Scottish Widows, 21 per cent of those that “could and should” are not saving anything at all.

The index was calculated by the sixth annual Scottish Widows UK Pensions report, which measures pension saving of those aged 30 or over and earning at least £10,000 a year.

Ian Naismith, head of pensions market development at Scottish Widows, said the effects of the credit crisis on the economy were starting to affect pension saving.

He said: "The previous three years saw a steady rise in the number of people saving adequately for retirement, but now we are seeing the full impact of the downturn on people's retirement pots.

“While there are signs that the economy is recovering, the nation's saving habits paint a very different story.”

The Scottish Widows Average Savings ratio,which tracks the percentage of income being saved for retirement by UK workers not expecting to rely on a defined-benefit scheme. The ratio remained flat at 9.2 per cent during 2010, but was below the Scottish Widows estimate of 12 per cent.

The report also revealed that a greater percentage of women are not saving adequately enough than men, but  men have also stopped saving as much.

It said the hardest hit group was the over 50s, with only half saving adequately. Just 38 per cent of women over the age of 50 are saving adequately in 2010, the report found, compared with 52 per cent in 2009.

The percentage of women over 50 not saving at all for their retirement has increased from 22 per cent in 2009 to 26 per cent in 2010. However, the report found 60 per cent of men aged over 50 are saving adequately for retirement.

According to Scottish Widows, the economic downturn has had the biggest impact on saving attitude with 41 per cent of people citing it as the cause for lower saving. A further 32 per cent believe the economic tumult has affected the size of their pension pot to a great extent.

Naismith added: “The whole nation is feeling worse off than a year ago and this is really starting to take its toll on pensions savings, but instead of putting people off saving, the economic downturn should have been the trigger that everyone needed to save more."