More than three-quarters of working adults have little idea how much the state pension is or when they can claim it, according to a new survey.

Almost a quarter do not even know how much they’re saving into a pension.

The research from pensions and retirement specialist LV= reveals how poorly British adults are prepared for retirement.

It revealed that an estimated 25 million people, 77% of respondents to the survey, are ignorant of how much the state pension is and don’t know at what age they will be eligible to receive it (details below).

Clive Bolton, managing director of protection, savings & retirement at LV=, said: “People have a series of big decisions to make as they approach the end of their working life and each one can make a huge difference to their retirement. But our research highlights how pensions confuse people.”

The research found that about a quarter 23% (7 million) of working adults do not know how much they are paying into a pension.

Some 14% (4 million) said they are not paying into a pension. A quarter 25% (8 million) said they were paying 15% or more of salary.

The survey also showed that the cost of living crisis may be taking its toll on pension contributions.

Some 13% (4 million) adults decreased pension contributions in the past three months, up from 7% (2 million) who said they decreased their pension contributions in September 2021.

The survey suggests Financial Planners have more work to do to improve clients’ understanding of their pension options.

It showed that many people do not understand how to ensure their pension fund lasts the rest of their life with almost two-thirds saying they do not know how to ensure they do not run out of money in retirement.

Meanwhile three-fifths of working adults do not know how to take money from their pension in a tax-efficient way, according to the research.

* The current state pension is £185.15pw (although payments depend on National Insurance contributions and past earnings). The state pension age is currently 66 and is set to rise to 68 between 2044 and 2046 for those born after 1977.

• Research results were based on the LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Research Programme - a quarterly survey of 4,000 UK adults. It surveyed 4,000 nationally representative UK adults via an online omnibus conducted by Opinium in September 2022.