ONE in five Britons thinks they will be working until they are at least 70 years old - making them almost twice as likely to have this expectation as workers across Europe - according to a new global report.

Some 19% of Britons predict they will work into their eighth decade of life, compared with an average of 12% of workers in Europe generally, according to a survey of more than 30,000 people in 60 countries by market research company Nielsen.

Some 44% of Britons expect to retire after the age of 65, which is almost double the global average share of people who said this, at 25%.

One in 22 (4.5%) Britons surveyed believe they will still be working at the age of 76 or over.

Almost half (46%) of ­British workers surveyed said their expected retirement age is later than they would like.

More than one-third (35%) of working Britons expects to be relying on their savings to help them get by in their later years. More than half (52%) feel they will be financially better equipped than their parents for retirement, although this percentage was found to be significantly lower than the global average at 70%.

Nielsen senior vice president for financial services in Europe Eleni Nicholas said: "Britons have a bleaker retirement outlook than people globally; they're almost twice as likely to expect to be working after 65, and a third less likely to believe they'll be financially better off than their parents."

The findings come as the Government's programme to encourage people to start saving or put more money away for their retirement continues to be rolled out.

About 10 million people are expected to be newly saving or saving more as a result of the Government's scheme to automatically enrol people into workplace pensions.