A long-term savings culture needs to be established in order to ensure UK adults enjoy a comfortable retirement, according to Saga.

Dr Ros Altmann, director-general of Saga, urged people to take responsibility for planning their retirement and begin focusing on lifetime savings which can be added to private, company and state pension schemes.

Speaking at the 2012 Crowe Clark Whitehill pensions lecture, she said: "What is really important is to recover the culture of long-term saving and broaden our thinking so that later life income can include products other than just pensions.

"Combining pensions with other forms of saving, including for later life care needs, as well as earnings from part-time work, will help people afford a much more comfortable life in old age."

In order to encourage UK workers to increase their personal pension contributions, Dr Altmann called for employees to be granted partial access to pension savings.

Under the proposals, contributions by employers and the associated tax relief would be locked but individuals could gain access to the remainder to fund major events such as a buying a house.