The study by BlackRock found that one in five 25-34 year olds will live to see their 100th birthday, yet most millennials think they will only live to 79.
A 30 year-old today can expect to live till around 90, and this confusion could lead to a significant retirement shortfall, the research said.
In terms of retirement income, millennials estimate they’ll need £27,000 a year and believe a pension of £167,000 will sustain them during this time. In reality, they’ll need closer to £540,000.

On average, millennials believe the right age to start saving for retirement is 25, but 48 per cent have not started yet and 21 per cent have no savings at all. While this might not seem like a problem now, it could scupper their aspirations of early retirement, the report said. Four in 10 millennials said they wanted to semi-retire at 57.

On a positive note, the findings suggest 59 per cent of millennials take financial planning seriously, with 23 per cent using a professional financial adviser, more than any other age group.

When shown the returns of the stock market versus cash over the last 10 years, 51 per cent of millennials said they would invest some or all of it in stocks and shares, indicating financial education is key to help savers take steps towards investing.

Alex Hoctor-Duncan, investment and savings expert at BlackRock, said: “Without a doubt, the biggest challenge this group faces is multi-tasking their finances. A good place to start is to have a plan for their savings, investments and their debt. Millennials are the first generation that will have to rely not only on their finances but the way in which they manage them. They haven’t the option of learning from the past, as their grandparents and even their parents will have had a very different experience.”

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