British workers remain overly optimistic about the age at which they will be able to retire, with just a third conceding they will work beyond 65, a survey shows.

Just a tenth of people believe they will still be working into their 70s, according to the research by Croner, the workplace consultancy business.

The poll, which saw You Gov question almost 1,400 working adults, found that 22 per cent see themselves working until 60 or younger and 44 per cent until just age 65. That is despite the state pension being a likely target for all political parties as rising life expectancy increases the cost to the public purse. There are four working people for every pensioner today, and the figure is expected to drop to 2.5 per pensioner by 2030, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.

The state pension age is currently 65 for men and 60 for women. The Labour government has announced plans to align it at 65 by 2020, with the eligibility for women rising gradually from next year. It would then go up from 65 to 66 for men and women over a two-year period starting in 2024; to 67 over two years starting in 2034; and to 68 over two years from 2044.

However, the Conservatives said last month that this was not ambitious enough, and proposed raising the pension age to 66 in 2016 — a decade earlier than Labour's plans. They said this would save £13 billion a year. Meanwhile, the Institute of Directors and National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) have recently suggested that the pension age should be raised to 70.

Gillian Dowling, an employment consultant at Croner, said: “There are definite signs that the retirement age is going to increase but, as our research shows, people are still unsure of what to expect and are not preparing to work past 65.

“As further Government consultation on the national default retirement age is only set to start next year, this will remain an area of uncertainty for both employers and employees for some time.”

Men are more likely to think they will work past 65, with 38 per cent saying so compared with 31 per cent of women.

For those who see themselves working longer, the top reasons for doing so are financial concerns (68 per cent) followed by enjoyment of work (41 per cent), changes to the law (39 per cent), keeping busy (38 per cent) and living longer (27 per cent).

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