Retired Brits are £6,200 a year short of a comfortable retirement

UK pensioners are living on an average of £6,200 a year less than the £22,000 they say they need to live comfortably, with two in five (38 per cent) finding living on their retirement income harder than they originally expected.

New research for Prudential exploring attitudes to retirement reveals that pensioners would ideally like an income of £22,000 a year in order to live comfortably. But in reality, the average income they receive is just £15,800.

Those pensioners who find it more difficult to make ends meet use a range of ways to boost their disposable income. Seventeen per cent of pensioners continue to work part-time, 12 per cent have downsized their property, six per cent released equity from their homes, and five per cent sell other assets to raise funds.

Despite all of this, most retired Britons maintain a positive outlook - 70 per cent say they enjoy retirement and one in four (25 per cent) say they are keen to spend their money while they still can.

Almost half (48 per cent) have already spent some of their pension pot on home and garden improvements and a third (33 per cent) have spent it on regular holidays and travel. In addition, 13 per cent have already given a substantial amount of their retirement income to their families.

Vince Smith-Hughes, Head of Business Development at Prudential, said: "While some pensioners can draw on a range of assets and savings to boost their income and help them enjoy life in retirement, others simply get by on less than they would like.

"Recent returns on property and equity investments have been uncertain and we therefore strongly encourage people who are currently saving for retirement to seek financial advice to ensure they have an appropriate range of savings in place.

"As people are living longer and need to fund more years in retirement, it is increasingly important to seek advice from professionals and put by as much as possible, as early as possible."

Prudential's research also found that women (41 per cent) are more likely than men (33 per cent) to find it difficult to live on their retirement income. Across the UK, pensioners in London (47 per cent) and the East Midlands (46 per cent) find it the most difficult to make ends meet.