Workers approaching retirement have named not having enough money as their biggest retirement fear, according to data from Hargreaves Lansdown.

Its survey found that, when asked to choose their top three fears, 48 per cent of people felt that not having sufficient savings was in their top three biggest retirement concern.

Becoming ill came in a close second, with 43 per cent of those surveyed naming it in their top three, while 38 per cent stated that losing mental capacity was one of their biggest worries.

Hargreaves Lansdown senior analyst, Nathan Long commented on the findings: “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 squirreling away a little more every month your first step.”

Around 29 per cent of people fear being lonely, although this is the least common concern for those aged over 55 (19 per cent).

In fact, around 20,000 people (3 per cent) retiring each year “are estimated to be dreading spending more time with their other half”.

Hargreaves Lansdown’s report found that 91 per cent of people expect to spend at least half of their time with their partner, while over half expect to spend three quarters of their time with them.

The things that people were looking forward to in retirement is travel (46 per cent), free time (41 per cent) and spending time with their partner (31 per cent).

However, there may be some conflict between couples, as 27 per cent of men chose spending time with their partner in their top three retirement desires, compared to 36 per cent of women.

Furthermore, 12 per cent of men are excited by looking after the grandchildren, compared to 17 per cent of women, while 15 per cent of men can’t wait to spend time watching TV and films, compared to only 7 per cent of women.

Long added: “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.”

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