Scots are underestimating how long they may live and how quickly their retirement savings may run out, a major UK-wide survey has found.

Almost two-thirds of Scots believe they will not live beyond 80, with less than a third expecting to live to between 81 and 90 and one in 20 beyond that.

Across the UK on average, 45 per cent expect to live past 80 compared with 35 per cent in Scotland, according to the ­Populus survey of over 2,000 people conducted for JLT Employee Benefits to probe ­reaction to the government's dramatic pensions reforms.

John Wilson, head of research at JLT, said people had not caught up with the ever-changing expectations of our longevity. "Our overall view is people are still underestimating how long they are going to live, even though research we have done shows that parts of the West of Scotland still have an average life expectancy below the proposed state pension age."

On average Scots expect to live 11 years into retirement, compared with a UK average of nearly 13 years. But an East-West divide emerged from the survey fieldwork, with those in Edinburgh more optimistic about their longevity than those in Glasgow. Only 32 per cent in ­Glasgow expect to live beyond 80 compared with 40 per cent in Edinburgh. Just over half those questioned in Glasgow expect to live to between 71 and 80 and only 1 per cent expect to live to 100 compared with 7per cent in Manchester and 6per cent in Liverpool.

Asked when they expected to retire, 10 per cent of Scots said it would be before 60 while 6per cent said in their seventies and 14 per cent said they would never retire completely, all in line with the UK average.

Across the UK, 5 per cent of 18 to 24 year olds said they would probably not retire until they hit their eighties.

The average amount that Scots believed they would have accumulated in their pension pot by retirement was £64,000. But almost half of those ­questioned had no idea, including 56 per cent in Edinburgh (highest in the survey) and 43 per cent in Glasgow.

Mr Wilson commented: "According to Nest (National Employee Savings Trust), to have a reasonable income on top of the state pension you are looking at a pension pot of £200,000."

He said the next finding, how long people think their savings might last in retirement, was the real cause for concern. "More than half think their pension savings won't last more than a decade, and yet the average time spent in retirement is now 20 years. Judging by the size of pots quoted by those who do have an idea, they may be right."

Mr Wilson added: "What happens in Australia and the US where hardly anyone buys an annuity is that people do run out of cash. There is a lot of underestimating of life expectancy and using up of savings too quickly. That is the experience of most countries that already have this flexibility."

When asked how they would cope if their savings ran out, a third of UK respondents said they would go back to work, a third would find a cheaper place to live including going abroad, a fifth would sell equity in their home, while overall 57 per cent said they would rely on the state pension. Only 28 per cent in Edinburgh said they would "go back to work" against 37 per cent in Glasgow - well above the UK average of 31 per cent.

Only 17 per cent of Scots agreed that people should turn to charities to help them make ends meet, compared with 30 per cent in Wales, while only 5per cent cited friends as a last resort, against 21 per cent in London.

The survey probed attitudes to the new pensions freedoms announced in the Chancellor's March budget. From next April, it will no longer be compulsory to use a personal or workplace (non final salary) pension to buy an annuity to provide an income for life, but the pension can be cashed in, subject to tax, prompting much debate over the "Lamborghini question" - will people splash their life savings on an expensive car?

Mr Wilson said: "Only seven per cent said they would buy a new car - they didn't say what make. A lot of people said they would use it to pay off debt, and the experience of other countries suggests that would be the case."

Perhaps alarmingly for some of the pensions industry, only 15 per cent of the 2,000 sample across the UK said they expected to buy an annuity, whereas under the present rules 90 per cent do so.

When asked about the ­government's promise of free guidance at retirement, there was a clear preference for face- to-face rather than online or phone-based advice.