With the financial buoyancy to revel in active social lives and the stability to spend on added extras, one in ten older people declare themselves satisfied with the level of luxury they enjoy.

By contrast, just one in 50 people aged 18 to 24 said they felt they could indulge themselves without financial constraint.

Meanwhile, nearly one in five over-55s were able to afford the social life they wanted.

Yet Birmingham Midshires found that satisfaction levels dropped sharply among those over-55s receiving a state pension only, where just 15 per cent said they could afford the basics of everyday life.

Supplementing their state pension with a private pension, meanwhile, bumped that figure up to 55 per cent of people, a larger proportion even than among those in full-time work.

Last month, the government placed a lower-than-expected cap on the upper level of investment individuals can make in their personal pensions saving schemes, assuaging insurers’ worries that personal pensions would undermine private pensions.

Find out more about retirement planning

© Adfero Ltd