Most people aim to retire by 60 but are unlikely to have the finances in place

But one in 12 say they never want to fully retire, according to a survey commissioned by insurer Royal London Ireland, and carried out by iReach.

The research found that six in 10 workers would retire at 60, or even earlier, if they could do so.

Twice as many men as women would give up working if they could, the survey of 900 people shows.

However, financial experts said many people find that when they get into their 60s they have insufficient pension funds built up to allow them to retire early.

The age at which workers qualify for the State pension currently is 66.

One in five would like to retire at the age of 50 if they could afford to leave work at that age, the survey found.

Pension proposition lead with Royal London Ireland, Mark Reilly, said: “Retiring at 60 was the most preferred option.

But what was really interesting to see was that while people often joke of being able to retire early, the truth is that it’s not for everyone.”

He said this was clear from the finding that just one in five would choose to retire at 50 if the possibility was available to them.

And the survey found that 8pc say they never want to fully retire.

“This shows that there is a cohort of society for whom the ability to continue to work beyond the traditional retirement age is hugely important,” added Mr Reilly.

“There can be a lot of hours to fill when you retire so for many people, work gives them a sense of purpose and identity, as well as a daily routine, all of which can be lost at retirement unless adequate preparation is put in.”

Significant changes to the State pension were put forward by the Government last September.

The changes, which have been described as among the biggest structural reforms of the system, are due to be phased in from January of next year.

Under the new system, workers will be able to continue working up to the age of 70 in return for a higher weekly payment.

Despite this incentive, the Royal London Ireland survey found that twice as many men as women would like to retire today if they had the opportunity to do so.

About one in four of those aged between 18 and 24 said they would retire today if finances allowed.

Women are more inclined than men to want to work until the age of 66.

Mr Reilly said: “While many dream of giving up work well before the normal retirement age, early retirement may not be as blissful as people expect.”

He warned that people often underestimate the amount of money they need to have saved up for retirement, as well as the amount of money they will spend at that stage of their lives.