Workers have an increasingly uncertain view on when they are going to retire. 15 million (42%) non-retired UK adults are not able to say what age they plan to retire according to research by Baring Asset Management.

Research undertaken in 2008 (before the economic downturn) showed that 100% of those asked were confident that they would retire where as 10% of the working population asked this year cannot envisage ever retiring.Today the number of people not planning to retire has increased to 15% for people aged between 55 and 64 and to 36% for people aged 65 and over.

The study, conducted among non-retired British adults, also reveals almost 100,000 people who have yet to retire don’t plan to stop working until they are at least 76 years old. And 2.3 million Brits don’t plan to retire until they are over 65 years old, an increase from 1.9 million last year.

Of those that plan to retire after 65, over two thirds (67%) are men and a third (33%) are women. This shows proportionally more men intend to retire later. On a regional basis, 12% of people in the north of England have no plans to stop working, compared to only 5% of people in Scotland.

“Our research shows that, for a large number of people, the ability to retire is now uncertain. A combination of increased longevity, a rise in the cost of living, and people not saving enough means that more people are being forced to work beyond the age of 65. They simply can’t afford to stop working said Marino Valensise, chief investment officer at Barings.