Britons are woefully unprepared for retirement, with half saying they do not feel confident they will have financial freedom when they stop work.

Younger and middle-aged savers are especially fearful about their finances in comparison with those over the age of 55.

The results have been published in a survey from You Gov and national adviser firm Continuum.

The age group with the most concerns was those between 45 and 54, with just three out of 10 (29%) saying they were confident they would have financial freedom in retirement. That compares to a third (32%) of 35-44 year-olds.

In comparison, older Britons were much more confident, with more than half (53%) of those over the age of 55 confident that they would have financial freedom.

Men were also more confident than women with 46% saying they thought they would have financial freedom in retirement compared to only 40% of women.

Marital status also had a considerable impact on who how confident Brits were feeling about the state of their future finances. Of those who were married or in a civil partnership, 53% were confident they would have financial freedom in retirement in comparison to 28% of single people and 31% of cohabiting Brits.

Martin Brown, managing partner at Continuum, said: “As the government and pensions regulators announce their latest changes to workplace pensions our survey shows that there is a lot of work to be done if Britons are to feel confident about their financial freedom in retirement.”

He said that under-saving for retirement remains one of the UK’s biggest challenges. “There is still a lot of work that needs to be done if the majority of workers are to feel prepared for when they leave the workforce.”

There was comparatively little disparity between the regions. However, those living in London were the most likely to be feeling confident they would have financial freedom (47%) with those in the North, East and Northern Ireland feeling least confident (42%). 

How confident are you that you will have financial freedom in retirement?

Source: You Gov / Continuum

There was more regional disparity when it came to the biggest financial concerns for retirement. Concerns around the costs of healthcare were far more notable in Wales and Northern Ireland, with 21% of respondents in these regions saying this was their main concern in comparison to just 6% in Scotland.

The most common fear shared was not being able to maintain their current lifestyle in retirement, with a third of Brits in all regions other than Northern Ireland sharing this fear. This is particularly notable as 81% of those surveyed said it is important to them to maintain their current lifestyle after retirement.

What are your biggest financial concerns for retirement?

Source: You Gov / Continuum

• All figures are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2067 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 28-30 June. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).