IFA firm deVere Group carried out the research, which found that 89 per cent of all new working age clients did not realise how much money they would need in order to fulfil their own retirement ambitions, before they began working with an independent financial adviser.
More than 750 new and potential deVere clients in the UK, US, Australia, South Africa, Hong Kong, Spain, Qatar, France, Germany, and the United Arab Emirates participated in the survey.
Nigel Green, founder and CEO of deVere Group, said: “It is very alarming indeed that nine out of ten workers are financially sleepwalking into their retirement.
“The poll concludes that the overwhelming majority simply do not know just how much they will need to save during their working lives to fund the retirement they desire.
“Not knowing how much they will need for something as important as funding their retirement is worrying.”
Mr Green said it was “particularly concerning in this day and age”, because increased longevity would mean higher retirement savings were necessary to avoid running out of money.
He added: “People are typically shocked when it is revealed how much they should be saving now to realise their own retirement ambitions later on.
“They have usually considerably underestimated the money they will need.”