A third (33%) of Gen Z (born in or later than 1996) believe that property will be their main source of wealth in retirement, according to Standard Life.

In the firm’s retirement voice report, which highlighted different attitudes between generations when it comes to funding life after work, it revealed that 30% of Gen Z will rely on their pension for retirement income.

This compared with 42% of baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) who said they will rely on their pension when retirement, with just 18% saying they would use property as their main source of income in retirement.

For millennials (born between 1981 and 1996), a higher proportion see their pensions as their main source of retirement income (36%), with 22% citing property as their primary income source after finishing work.

Furthermore, when it comes to how different generations view their homes in financial terms, 35% of Gen Z see it as a source of wealth that they can draw on if needed, particularly during retirement, compared to only 24% of millennials and Gen X, and 20% of baby boomers.

The survey, which quizzed more than 6,000 people, found that just 10% of Gen Z currently have a mortgage they could have started paying off, while 20% were worried about having to pay off a mortgage in retirement.

Managing director for retail direct at Standard Life, Dean Butler, said: "The fact that those closest to retirement age favour pensions gives us an insight into what most people end up doing when it comes to their retirement income. Both options have their merits but for young people it’s perhaps understandable their initial focus is on property given the significant barriers to getting on the housing ladder today.

"Relying on one asset alone for your retirement can be risky, so it’s sensible, if at all possible, to build up a more diversified portfolio that’s made up of different funding options and not to overlook the benefits of pensions as well as easy access ‘rainy day’ savings."

Butler added: "With property, there’s the option to sell before the minimum pension age but for most people, their property will be their home – so to access any money they’ll have to downsize, move to a cheaper area or consider equity release. Equity release can be valuable for people without any other assets but it’s important anyone considering this takes advice to make sure it’s right for them."

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