The average person approaching state pension age in the UK now believes they won’t be able to give up work until 67.Warning for millions of UK workers planning to retire before age 67Warning for millions of UK workers planning to retire before age 67

Anyone planning to retire before age 67 has been warned they may have to rethink. The average person approaching Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) state pension age in the UK now believes they won’t be able to give up work until 67.

A major study by Standard Life found that while the preferred retirement age remains 62, the average worker now believes they won’t be able to give up work until 67 – up from 66 last year.

That gap between hope and expectation – dubbed the Retirement Expectation Gap – has widened for a second year running. Catherine Foot, Director of the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement, said: “People face a growing gap between their retirement hopes and expectations.”

READ MORE State pensioners born after 1951 face ‘losing payment’ over £23,000 rule

“Average rates of saving are too low to give most people a decent income in retirement. The system must evolve if longer working lives are to be realistic and sustainable.”

Ms Foot added that “careers and workplaces must evolve” to allow people to work flexibly into later life. “Many feel unable to continue working into their late 60s,” she said.

“That means supporting carers, retraining older workers, and allowing people to step back and re-enter work as needed.”

The State Pension’s a regular payment from the government, that you may receive once you reach the State Pension age, to help support you in retirement.

Currently both men and women can claim this from the age of 66, but for those born after 5 April 1960, it’ll rise gradually each month and by one month at a time, until it reaches 67 in April 2028. It’ll eventually rise to 68, affecting those born after April 1977.

You’ll need to have 10 years of National Insurance Contributions to receive the minimum amount of State Pension and 35 ‘qualifying’ years to receive the maximum amount.