To survive the worst recession in decades, self employed 35-44 year-olds (known as generation X) have put their business before their own financial security, and risk poverty in old age.

They are likely to spend almost a third of their life in retirement – but aren't putting nearly enough aside to make it a retirement to enjoy, according to Standard Life.

Self-employed 35-44-year-olds have, on average, a pension pot less than a third of the size of those in employment. Two in five generation X'ers don't have a pension at all – whereas over three-quarters of those in employment save into a private pension.

So if you're a generation X'er and are starting to panic now, what should you do?

While many who are self employed may count on their business being their pension, there is no guarantee that when the time comes, selling the business will release enough income for retirement.

The figures from the Office for National Statistics make scary reading. A self-employed 35-44 year old currently saves £24,500 into a pension on average, almost £50,000 less than someone in employment. And half have pensions savings of less than £3,500!

In contrast, the average employed 35-44 year old has a pension fund of £73,000. This gap is exacerbated by those who are self employed not receiving the additional state pension (S2P). To provide the income an average man aged 65 gets from S2P today, a self-employed person would need a pension pot of £30,000. To find out how much pension you will get from the state request a state pension forecast.

Andrew Tully, senior pensions policy manager at Standard Life, said: "The recession has created a cohort of self employed entrepreneurs who are absolutely focused to maintaining their successful business. But, by focusing on their business and neglecting their personal finances, self employed gen X'ers are putting their future at risk."

"The introduction by government of auto enrolment in 2012 is a significant step towards encouraging those in employment to save into a pension as well as forcing employers to make a contribution on their behalf. But, it will not apply to those who are self employed who will also receive lower state pension benefits and currently save less. They need to reality check their plans and take steps now to safeguard their income into the future."

Standard Life has launched a site with tips and tools to help plan for the future.

Here are some pension tips for the self employed:

1. One of the greatest challenges if you are self employed is that your income probably fluctuates from month to month. To overcome this, set up monthly contributions to a pension that automatically increases year on year. Even £30 per month into a pension would mean an additional £123 per month in pension income from 65.

2. Paying money into a pension doesn't mean you can't use it to help your business. With a self-invested personal pension (Sipp) you can use your pension fund to buy commercial property - for instance the premises you use for your business. This gives a variety of tax advantages, including no capital gains tax when you come to sell the property.

3. There are a number of advantages to having money locked away in a pension pot. The main one being that you cannot access this money until retirement, which means no dipping into your fund. Most importantly, if your business should fail and in a worst case scenario you go bankrupt, your pension fully is protected from creditors.