Financial crisis forces one in 10 to put retirement on hold

ALMOST one in ten people have been forced to delay their retirement because of a financial emergency.

Around 9 per cent of people aged over 45 said they had put their retirement plans on hold due to the impact of financial emergencies and the recession, according to insurer Prudential.

A further 7 per cent of people claim they have decided to work for longer than they had originally planned to in order to build up a bigger pension fund.

Half of people who have delayed their retirement think they will have to wait between one and five years longer than they had intended before they give up work, while 17 per cent expect to have to work for at least five years longer.

But one in four people who have put off retiring fear they may never be able to afford to give up work completely.

Martyn Bogira, of Prudential, said: "It is imperative for people to realise what's at stake before they come to retire. It's one thing to want to continue to work, but quite another to be forced to as a result of not having saved enough money to be able to retire."