Simon Read: It's time to act if you want a happy retirement

Do you think you're ready for retirement? If you are, you're in a minority. A report published this week suggests that nine out of 10 of us are nowhere near close to having enough savings.

That's because while the average person wants an annual retirement income of £35,000, they are far more likely to have to survive on just £12,000, according to Aegon.

The pensions company has set up a digital service to check how ready you are for retirement. At its website at www.retiready.co.uk you can answer some questions and then get a score to show how ready you may be. The closer to 100 your score, the better you are.

It's a bit of fun that you can even do on your mobile but behind it is a deadly serious message. If you fail to plan properly for your retirement years, you won't be in any financial condition to enjoy them.

Depending on your age now, that may not seem terribly important. But the closer you get to retirement, the more important it will become, ending up being crucial when you reach your golden years. But by then, it will be too late to do anything about it.

The first step is to find out how your pensions savings are doing. Standard Life reckons that three in five pension holders have no idea of the value of their savings.

The solution is find out how much of a shortfall there may be and to do something about it. Malcolm McLean of Barnett Waddingham says: "The report reaffirms the notion that workers are sleepwalking towards a financially-insecure old age."

If that doesn't sound like an attractive future then do something about it.

s.read@independent.co.uk

Twitter: @simonnread