What's your retirement budget?

How much do you think you'll need per month during your retirement to live comfortably?

• 20% of those aged 55+ have saved nothing towards their retirement
• 14%of those aged 55+ don't know how much they have saved towards their retirement
• 15% of those aged 55+ don't know how much they will need during their retirement

Even though the majority of respondents expect to need £2,000 or less per month to live comfortably in retirement, 28% haven’t saved anything at all so far – including a fifth (20%) of those 55+.

‘It’s extremely worrying that such a large proportion of people nearing retirement still don’t yet have anything saved, especially when many think they’ll need around £2,000 a month to live comfortably,’ observes John Perks, Managing Director of Retirement Solutions at LV=.

‘People should remember it’s never too late to start saving, but those closer to retirement may struggle to put aside enough to guarantee the standard of living they want.’

What concerns do you have about your retirement?

• 50% of women surveyed worry about maintaining their health into retirement
• 36% more than a third of those aged 55+ have fears over financing their retirement
• 38% almost two-fifths of people aged 45-54 are concerned that they won't be able to retire when they want to

Those aged 35-44 are the most concerned about their financial status come retirement, with over half (53%) worried that they might not be financially prepared.

However, only a quarter (26%) would consider seeking pension guidance from an independent adviser, and 21% don't know where they would turn for retirement advice.

 ‘It’s vital that everyone is able to access affordable, regulated financial advice when they retire to ensure whatever pension savings they do have work as hard as possible for them, to help them make the most of their retirement,’ says John Perks.

What do you think will be your highest monthly expense during your retirement?

• 47% of those aged 55+ believe that household bills will be their highest expense
• 23% of 25-34 year-olds expect mortgage or rent payments to be their highest expense
• 14% of men believe that shopping will be the highest expense, compared to 10% of women

Household bills are by far the biggest expense that people expect to have during their retirement, with almost half of those aged 55+ (47%) saying it will be their highest outgoing.

What would you give up to save money towards your retirement?

• 28% of people would not give up any expenses to save towards their retirement
• 6% would give up their mobile phone to save towards retirement
• 26% of 18-24 year-olds are more likely to give up alcohol than any other age group

Only half (51%) of those aged 45-54, are paying monthly pension contributions.

However, three in ten (29%) of those aged 45-54 weren't prepared to give up anything to boost their pension fund.

With such a large number of people concerned they won't have enough saved to live comfortably in retirement, it's important that people have access to support to help them get the most from their money. Taking regulated advice can help people understand their options and ensure their money lasts as long as possible throughout retirement.

LV= has a number of tools to help make retirement planning simpler and also provides fully regulated online and telephone advice services to help people with this difficult decision.

Total sample size was 2,045 adults in the UK, of which 1,590 were not retired. YouGov survey was undertaken between 4 to 5 May 2016 and representative of all GB adults (aged 18+). Certain questions allowed for multiple answers. The statistics presented in the pie charts and bar charts are based on the results from the total sample surveyed.