It found that women were most likely not to have adequate retirement savings, with the average older woman having £34,500 set aside in a pension, just half the £68,800 that the typical man has saved. What a saga: Ros Altman, director- general of Saga says the whole system of pensions is 'imploding' Even once State benefits are taken into account, this sum is unlikely to be enough to generate the average retirement income the over-50s hope to have of £18,100, rising to £32,100 among households that currently have an income of more than £70,000. ... Dr Altmann said the previous Labour Government had been ‘in denial’ about the crisis. The Coalition plans to force all companies to enrol staff on a pension scheme from 2012. It also wants to scrap the means-tested State pension system and use savings from reduced bureaucracy to fund a higher £140-a-week flat rate.