A third of UK adults are in the dark about how they would fund later life care despite being only a year away from retirement, according to new research.

The warning is published in M&G Wealth's Retirement Revisited Report.

Only 15% of people surveyed said they plan to fund their care costs through the sale of their property while only 35% of those in pre-retirement are confident that their plans will allow them to retire comfortably.

The research threw up a gender divide, with almost two-thirds of men confident in their retirement plans compared to less than half of women.

Only one in three of all those surveyed are very confident in their retirement plans with just two out of five only slightly confident.

Worryingly, a fifth said they are not confident in their retirement plans, which should send out alarm bells to Financial Planners.

For those seeking to make up for a shortfall in sufficient income to fund a comfortable retirement, the most popular solution was to move to a smaller property (31%).

A separate 23% said that they would release equity from their home, while 13% said they would use the inheritance that they had planned to leave to their loved ones.

How people anticipate paying for care stirred up a greater worry, and comes on the back of rising residential care fees, which currently range from £27,000 to £39,000 a year with a rise from £35,000 to £55,000 if nursing care is needed.

Catriona McInally, investment expert at M&G Wealth, said: “The prospect of needing care later in life and how it will be paid for can often be an uncomfortable subject and is therefore potentially avoided.

“Rising inflation rates, and the cost-of-living crisis, have undoubtedly added pressures surrounding people’s retirement plans and funding more immediate spending needs is understandably the focus for many right now.”

The research was carried by Opinium among 900 UK adults (18+) with 500 of them planning on retiring in the next 12 months.