The suggestion has been put forward in a paper on equity release by The Smith Institute, which has also called on the government to pledge its support to the equity release market so pensioners can use the value of their homes to meet expensive care costs, according to the Daily Mail.

It argues that low-income workers approaching retirement are not used to paying for financial advice, so the government should step in to offer it to them.

Paul Hackett, co-author of the paper, said: “Future generations of low income retired homeowners will increasingly struggle to meet the costs of repairs and adaptations for healthcare needs.

“To avoid unnecessary hardship, homeowners must plan ahead, including better utilisation of their housing wealth. Government should help by offering a financial MOT for everyone at the age of 50 and on retirement.”

The research has been commissioned by Hanover, a firm which provides affordable housing for the UK’s over 55s, and comes at a time of growing concern about the financial buoyancy of future pensioners.

Of particular concern is the huge burden placed on budgets in the event someone needs to go into a care home.

This prompted the government to announce that no individual would pay more than £72,000 in care costs in their lifetime in an attempt to prevent people being forced to sell their home to pay for care.

But with accommodation costs at care homes often hitting the £10,000 mark, going into care is still a huge expense, and it has prompted the Smith Institute to call for a government push on equity release.