Only 38% of working-age people - 11.6 million out of 30.4 million people - are saving into a private pension, the lowest level in the past ten years, new analysis by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has revealed.

According to the DWP, this highlights exactly why automatic enrolment – introduced from October 2012 – is so critical.

The figures show a steady decline in pension saving between 1999/2000 and 2009/10, with the decrease being most dramatic among men and the under 40s.

While the overall number of people saving into a private pension fell from 46% in 1999/00 to 38% in 2009/10, pension saving among men fell from 52% to 39%. And among people aged between 20 and 39 years old pension provision fell from 43% to 31%.

The analysis also reveals a map of pension provision across the UK in 2009/10, with higher pension provision in the South East (43%), Scotland (42%), the South West (41%) and the East (41%), and lowest pension participation in Northern Ireland (33%), London (34%) and West Midlands (34%).