The report from the National Consumer Council (NCC) says that as a result of pension law changes, and many employers closing final salary schemes, more risk and complexity is being shifted onto the shoulders of individuals.

Ensuring a decent income in retirement is risky at the best of times, but several new factors - longer life expectancy and recent stock market falls - are increasing the risks

Deirdre Hutton NCC Chairwoman

The NCC urges the government to decide once and for all who should shoulder retirement income risks - employers, the government or individuals.

An NCC poll of 2,000 adults found that seven in every ten people (71%) have thought about whether they'll have enough income when they retire - with more than half of these thinking about it 'a lot'.

Eight in ten see reductions in state pensions, being given wrong or bad advice and losing their job as the biggest risks to their retirement income.

However, the NCC chairwoman Deirdre Hutton said that consumers are only dimly aware that the closure of final salary schemes and changes to state pension provision mean that they now shoulder a lot more of the risk for their own retirement provision.

In fact, according to Ms Hutton: "Ensuring a decent income in retirement is risky at the best of times, but several new factors - longer life expectancy and recent stock market falls - are increasing the risks."

Wholesale reform

The NCC report comes in the build-up to the publication of the Governments pension green paper.

The paper is expected to outline a wholesale reform of the UK pension industry.

The NCC would like to see the government involving consumers in a dialogue on future pensions policy and by being explicit about the pensions risks consumers will be exposed to and why.

In particular, the report said the government should recognise specific retirement risks faced by low-income consumers and try to minimise those risks in future.

In addition, the NCC said employers looking to close final salary pension schemes must communicate more openly with employees, explaining what the closure will mean to retirement plans.