Just a third of people accept that they will have to work beyond 65, even though the state pension age is set to rise.

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.

And 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 You Gov poll questioned almost 1,400 working adults and found that 22 per cent see themselves working until just 60 or younger and 44 per cent until 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.