Millions of people across the UK are not prepared to cut back on what they spend on a day to day basis in order to put money away for the future, a new survey claims.

Around half of the population - some 24 million people - say they prefer to live in the present with almost three quarters claiming they cannot save more than they currently do, according to IFA Promotion's annual Get Saving study.

Single people are more likely to let their finances get out of control than those who are married with one in ten feeling their debt is spiralling.

Those who rent their homes also tend to feel less in control of their finances than those with a mortgage.

Around three quarters of those aged between 25 and 34 are unaware of the full picture when it comes to their finances with a quarter of those aged 16 to 34 saying they simply enjoy spending their money whilst 38 per cent are busy paying off debts.

A quarter of people who fall into this group also say they are not planning to start saving over the course of the next year.

The overall number of people who believe they are putting enough away for their future has dropped from 40 per cent last year to 28 per cent.

David Elms, chief executive of IFA Promotion, said: "Retirement seems a long way off when you are in your late twenties or early thirties but if you don’t start planning for your pension in time it will have a serious effect on your future lifestyle.

"We are delaying important life events such as marriage and mortgages until later in life but this doesn’t necessarily mean we want to work into our dotage because we can’t afford to retire.

"The only sure-fire way to solve this dilemma is to take some responsibility for your long term finances now and get saving," he concluded.