Plasma TV or Pension?

I have just returned from a short holiday in France. As is my professional curse, even whilst riding my bicycle through small French villages I noticed the financial services related ads and items. There were a number of small insurance offices that occasionally caught my eye, normally branded Axa.
I returned home to the business pages to discover that Axa (the second biggest insurer in the world and 'Gallic insurance titan' (c) The Times!) has sold its life insurance book of business in the UK to Resolution - one of the firms that just buy up old books of business without selling / marketing new plans- basically asset stripping, making economies of scale and getting rid of old systems whilst just quietly administering the plans already on the books.

Nicolas Moreau, currently in charge of Axa UK but apparently destined for a bigger role in Paris, explained that the £2.75billion sale price would free up capital for Axa to concentrate on wealth management in the UK rather than insurance. Yet he also lamented that "People would rather buy a plasma TV for the world cup than save for their pensions"

Is this true?
Would you rather have a new TV than put money aside for your old age?

If so, perhaps one last comment from Mr Moreau may give cause to reconsider "We shall see the level of poverty [in Europe] in older people increasing dramatically. Why? Because the workforce will not be able to pay for their retirement benefits. You already see it in the United States - the number of older people working in McDonalds's or gas stations ... is quite striking"

So there we have it. Consumables now and McJobs and poverty later.
Or saving now and being able to spend your retirement eating in restaurants that actually bring your food to your table ;-)

As always I suspect the answer may be in the middle somewhere.

Au Revoir