More than half (59%) of black people are worried about not having enough money in retirement, compared to 49% of Indian people and 53% of white people.

One in four people from the black community also has no personal or workplace pension set up compared to 36% of white savers.

Instead of a private pension, black savers are more likely to use cash savings for their retirement.

When asked about expected sources of income, 30% of black people chose cash compared to 27% of white people.

But when compared to a pension, cash is seen as a more risky savings vehicle and one which is more likely to be impacted by high inflation, according to the data from Scottish Widows.

Black people are less likely to have a state pension (36%), compared to 58% of white British people.

Impact of the cost-of-living crisis

Inflation is now at 10.1% and in the middle of the cost-of-living crisis, those in minority communities said they were under a larger strain from rising prices.

More than half (53%) of those in the Pakistani community and 48% of black people said they were worried about rising costs compared to 36% of white people in the Scottish Widows’ Retirement Report.

Looking forward, 16% of black respondents to the data which surveyed 6,000 people, said they had reduced their retirement contributions compared to 10% of white people and 14% of those from Asian communities.

Pete Glancy, head of policy at Scottish Widows, said: “Those with the best pension provision have spent much of their careers in well-paid, full-time jobs.

“Those with the poorest pension provision tend to have intermittent, low-paid employment or earn their wages from multiple jobs, which means they can lose out on being automatically enrolled in an employer led pension scheme.

“Black communities appear to be over-represented in the latter category, which can impact on the accumulation of private pension provision and State Pension entitlement.”

Distrust towards financial institutions

Kia Commodore, founder of Pennies to Pounds, said: “The stats in the report about black communities are shocking but sadly, unsurprising. The rise in the cost of living has undoubtedly affected the choices that many people are making regarding their finances.

“In my experience, there are a few reasons why the black community may not be as inclined to save for a pension.

“One is that black employees typically earn less than their white British counterparts and do not always have the additional disposable income to save into a pension.

“There is also a feeling of distrust towards financial institutions which, in-turn, can impact the financial decisions made by some members of the black community.”