A Financial Planning firm is using the case of the Duke of Edinburgh to highlight the importance of retirement planning.

Prince Philip yesterday announced he would step down from carrying out royal engagements this Autumn, as he approaches his 96th birthday.

Tilney released a comment today warning that “working until your mid-90s could become the norm unless people save for their retirement earlier”.

Since 1952, The Duke of Edinburgh has carried out 22,191 solo engagements. Find out more about His Royal Highness > https://t.co/jEYKpTzkZg pic.twitter.com/DC8yfGELcz

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) May 4, 2017

The Warner Stand at Lord's @HomeOfCricket is officially opened by The Duke of Edinburgh ? pic.twitter.com/9tMKvIAYLm

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) May 3, 2017

Gary Smith, Financial Planner at Tilney, said: "The Duke of Edinburgh yesterday announced his retirement at the age of 95. The Duke worked tirelessly throughout his life, retiring well beyond the set retirement age, yet he didn’t necessarily need to.

"Most of the general public want to retire much younger than 95 and yet, if truth be told, people are unfortunately working later and older as many did not started saving for their retirement from an earlier enough age. This has meant that they have little pension to retire upon and so have to work later.

“Furthermore, as the Duke has demonstrated, people are living longer and for those that do retire on their 65th birthday, they will potentially require their pension savings to sustain their income for 30-years plus. Therefore, to ensure that you can have the retirement you desire and retire when you wish, we would encourage individuals to commence saving as early as possible."

Chartered Financial Planner Martin Bamford, a SOLLA Accredited Later Life Adviser, MD of Informed Choice in Surrey, gave FP Today his own thoughts.

He said: “If you’re the head of a royal household who benefits from live-in carers, drivers and butlers, it’s quite likely you can continue working into your 80s or even 90s. For most people, by the time we reach this impressive age, work is the last thing on our minds.”

The Duke of Edinburgh chats with @englandcricket legend Mike Gatting as he arrives at Lord's @HomeOfCricket to open the new Warner Stand. pic.twitter.com/eMkEYyS9qf

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) May 3, 2017

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh arrive for today's Service for Members of the Order of Merit at the Chapel Royal, St. James's Palace. pic.twitter.com/K3Ae2JzzVH

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) May 4, 2017

Clarion Wealth Planning told FP Today some of its clients already work into their 70s and 80s in non-exec and mentoring roles because they still have the drive and want to give back.

Jonnie Whittle, Financial Planner at Clarion Wealth Planning, said: “Our clients are primarily ex-business owners and they often look to keep an active role well into their 60s and beyond. Once they are financially secure and have passed the day to day responsibilities of running a business on to someone else, they still have the same work ethic and interests.

"They look at using this passion and their experience to give back, this could be through non-exec positions or other mentor type roles. They like ‘to keep busy’. For them, ‘retirement’ is just the freedom of making decisions without financial drivers."

Mr Bamford said: “Later retirement seems to be a growing trend, not purely due to financial necessity but also because of the various health, social and cognitive benefits it brings.

“A traditional retirement age of 60 or 65 looks unaffordable for many, with fewer gold plated defined benefit pensions around and higher levels of consumer debt. These factors combined with rising life expectancy and lower investment yields would make retirement at age 60 a very expensive prospect indeed.

“It’s still important to plan for a retirement in your 60s, even if you prefer to keep working later or will need to do so in order to secure a desired standard of living."