The UK’s pension crisis grew worse in 2005, despite a series of attempts to encourage workers to save more towards their retirement, and a significant pick-up in stock market fortunes, according to official figures.

Analysis of Government data shows that a 9-year trend of falling pension provision worsened in 2005 despite continued warnings that Britons are failing to save for old age.

Almost 12 million workers, more than two-fifths of the working population, failed to make a penny of pension savings in 2005, according to new figures released last week by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).