Family and friends helping out a million pensioners

One in nine (11%) pensioners is reliant to some degree on the extra support - and those approaching retirement are even more likely to be in this situation - according to the State of Retirement report from LV=.

Some 27% of people set to retire within the next 10 years said they sometimes depended on family and friends for help.

The report, which drew on a survey of more than 1,500 over-50s, said that, based on the UK pensioner population, just over one million pensioners need help from friends and relatives.

Many pensioners are also turning to their nearest and dearest for advice about money matters, the report found.

Six in 10 (60%) pensioners have taken financial advice from non-professional sources, such as friends and family, and three-quarters (72%) of those approaching retirement plan to do the same.

Just one in four (25%) over-50s had taken, or planned to take, professional advice about their retirement, despite the potential benefits that this could bring in helping people to get more from their money.

The report also found that nearly a quarter (24%) of pensioners worry their cash will not stretch throughout their retirement. More than half (55%) of people within 10 years of retirement said they are worried about money.

Meanwhile, more than one in five (22%) are banking on using the value of their property to help them through their later years, for example by downsizing, moving or using an equity release scheme.