Health and wealth have topped a list of retirement fears, according to new polling.

A recent Hargreaves Lansdown study explored the pressing fears and expectations of people towards retirement.

Fears expressed included: 

• Health and wealth top the list of the biggest retirement fears. When asked to pick their top three retirement fears; not having enough money (48%), becoming ill (43%) and losing mental capacity (38%) were deemed the scariest.
• 29% of people fear being lonely, yet this is least common among the over 55s (only 19% class this as a top three fear).
• Around 20,000 people finishing work each year are estimated to be dreading spending more time with their other half.

Expectations included travel (46%), free time (41%) and spending at least half of their time with their partner (91%).

The results come from study of 1,516 non-retired people.
 
Nathan Long, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Running out of money is the number one fear when we think about retirement followed closely by a decline in both our physical and mental health.

“You can help offset the fear of running out of money by getting a far better grip on what you have and how you can make it last.

“Very few people get to retirement bemoaning having saved too much, so make squirrelling away a little more every month your first step.

“We generally envisage spending plenty of time with our other halves when we’ve stopped work, with travel topping the retirement wish list.

“Discussing your retirement plans in advance will help ensure you are on the same page as your loved one and help you avoid joining the minority of people who are dreading spending time with their other half.”