Brits ignorant about financial basics

British people are clueless about the real cost of raising a child or getting an education, new research shows.

Figures from Ipsos Mori and King's College London indicate that we drastically underestimate major expenses such as the cost of university or how much someone needs to save for a given pension payout.

While the actual cost of bringing up a child has been calculated at £229,000, the average guess was just £50,000 - with parents less accurate than those without children.

Meanwhile, while the average debt of a university leaver is £44,000, the average guess was £21,000.

More worryingly, perhaps, most people have vastly inflated ideas about how much income their pension pot will net them. When asked how much they'd have to put in to get £25,000 a year (including the state pension) in retirement, the average guess was £124,000. The true figure is over £300,000.

And while on average people think that 65% of the population is failing to put enough by for retirement, the true figure is just 43%.

"We get a number of crucial things wrong about our personal and national finances. In particular we hugely underestimate the real financial implications of big life events and decisions – particularly having a family, going to university and retiring," says Bobby Duffy, Managing Director of Ipsos MORI Social Research Institute.

"It's concerning that we think under-saving for pensions is a very widespread social norm, when that's not really the case. This is important - we know that our perceptions of what normal behaviour is can be a strong effect on our own behaviour."

When it comes to houses, we're pretty accurate on the average cost of a home - around £194,000 - although Londoners, unsurprisingly, think it's higher. But while the public thinks the average deposit is £20,000, it's actually £72,000. And while interest rates have averaged 7% over the last 40 years, the average guess was 4%.

"Knowing the true cost of living is essential for accurate financial and life-planning so it's vital that we find better ways to improve public understanding of these issues," says Professor Denise Lievesley, Dean of Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy at King's College London.

"The average cost of a home deposit, the cost of raising children and level of pension contributions are all issues that, with a sound understanding, can help people plan securely for their future."

Take the Ipsos Mori/KCL quiz on financial literacy here.

Read more on AOL Money:

How technology can help us save and invest

Living Wage 'would lift six million out of poverty'

How much does it cost to raise a child in the UK?