A recent survey for Hargreaves Lansdown has found that one-third of people think they will retire between the ages of 66 to 70.

24% said somewhere between 61 and 65, while 19% thought they would retire before the age of 60.

Meanwhile, 16% didn’t know when they would retire. This includes 16% of the over 55s. Only 9% of the 18-34 age group has no idea.

Opinium surveyed 1,600 people in September 2024.

“people are often far fuzzier when it comes to actually knowing when retirement will happen”

Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Many of us look forward to retirement as a time to leave the 9-5 grind behind and have more time for friends, family, travel and rest. However, people are often far fuzzier when it comes to actually knowing when retirement will happen – a whopping 16% of us have no idea.

“The over 55s are more likely to be in the dark than those aged between 18 and 34 about their retirement prospects. This could be for a variety of reasons. Some could love what they do and have no plans to stop, others may have not yet really engaged. Others may have realised that right now, they don’t have enough and are playing catch up so want to keep their options open.

“It might also be young people having confidence in when they want it to happen – before complexities have time to come up – like affordability.

“The data also shows the enormous importance of the state pension. This forms the foundation of people’s retirement planning and there are very few people who are not reliant on it to some extent. The fact that the most popular response given for when people will retire is between 66 and 70 is testament to this given that state pension age is currently 66 and is on its way up. The next most popular response – between age 60-65 – can be the result of some savvy saving but also a long-held perception given that state pension age was once 65.”