Half of older people in the UK will have to delay their retirement for years in order to maintain their standard of living, new research has shown.

The Pension Policy Institute (PPI) has published a study which reveals that 45 per cent of workers aged between age 50 and the State Pension Age (SPA) will have to work at least 11 years beyond the SPA to continue their current lifestyle.

An additional five per cent will have to work for at least six years beyond the SPA, which is currently set at 65 for men. 

Niki Cleal, a director at PPI, said: "In the last three decades, life expectancy has increased dramatically in the UK.

"It means that many people will need to save more and work longer if they want to have an adequate retirement income."

The PPI calculated that 85 per cent of over 50s will accumulate retirement income of £11,000 a year - the minimum amount needed to fund their later years, according to the body.

However, the PPI admitted that many would find this figure inadequate and found that just 40 per cent of respondents would have enough money to continue living as they had during their working life when they retire. An additional ten per cent would have to work up to five years after the SPA to fund their later years. 

Michelle Mitchell, charity director general of Age UK, claimed that the figures show that many people can no longer comfortably retire on their pension after working throughout their lives.

She said: "Lower annuity returns and other factors mean that more and more people will have to work past their state pension age - and often for many years - if they are to have enough money to live comfortably."

Ms Mitchell added that the government needs to encourage employers to hire and retain older workers to ensure that future generations do not struggle to make ends meet in later life.

The findings follow the publication of new unemployment statistics from the ONS which show that there are now 118,000 people aged over 50 in the UK who have been unemployed for two years or more.