A new consumer survey has found that, on average, one in five people (21%) are clueless about when they will be able to retire.

Many more also had only vague or unrealistic ideas about when they could retire, according to the study for Bristol-based investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown.

The survey of 1,500 people in April found:

• 16% of people thought they would retire before 60
• 50% thought they would retire between the ages of 61 and 70
• 14% thought they would retire after 70
• 21% don’t know when they will retire

Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis, Hargreaves Lansdown, said many people were choosing to work way beyond normal retirement ages, citing Pope Leo XIV elected at 69 and famous investor Warren Buffett choosing to retire at the age of 94.

She said, however, that while many chose to work past normal retirement ages because they loved what they were doing no-one wanted to be forced to carry on working due to lack of money.

She said: “Recent data from HL shows half of people were planning to retire at some point in their sixties, with 23% planning to do so at some point between the ages of 61 and 65 and a further 27% earmarking the period between 66-70. This makes sense given that most will plan to retire at some point around their state pension age.

“However, while 16% of people were targeting retirement before the age of 60, there were a further 14% who thought that might not happen until they hit their 70s. More than one in five didn’t know.

“Further data from HL’s Savings and Resilience Barometer shows that just 36% of households are on track for a moderate retirement income, which shows there is still much work to be done.”

HL has more than 1.9 million clients with a total of £157.3 billion invested with HL (as at 30 September 2024). 

• The data was provided by a survey of 1,500 people carried out by Opinium on behalf of Hargreaves Lansdown in April.