Figures from HSBC reveal the average retirement in the UK is expected to last 19 years, but the average person’s savings will run out just seven years into their retirement.

This 12 year shortfall is the worst identified by the international study, which covered over 15,000 people in 15 countries around the world.

Christine Foyster, head of wealth development at HSBC UK said: “People are living longer, through tougher economic times, but their expectations about their standard of living in retirement remain unchanged. They are putting off the inevitable, which is the reality of significant cuts to their living standards in their twilight years, after their savings run out.”

According to the report, 66% of the UK working population is not preparing adequately for later life, with one in three (34%) not preparing at all.

Financial concerns are people’s greatest fear about living in retirement, with 63% in the UK saying they fear financial hardship and 31% worrying that they will have to work longer then they want to.

The study also showed how people are rading retirement savings to cover shorter term needs, with 14% of those yet to retire in the UK admitting they would dip into their retirement pot to cope with major life events such as buying a home or paying for children’s education.

Figures last month from Nest, the state-provided default pension scheme, showed that seven in 10 private sector workers do not currently pay into a retirement scheme.

The number of “active” pension savers in the UK fell from 12.2m at the peak in 1967 to 8.2m in 2011, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Auto-enrolment, which will see workers automatically put into a workplace pension scheme, is being gradually rolled out over the next five years.