Women seem especially vulnerable to the fears, which centre around a perceived lack of savings to fund a comfortable retirement.
Half of all 45 to 54-year-olds worry about running out of money when they retire, a study from Hartford Life has shown.
According to the firm, 54 percent of women and 45 percent of men in this age group are either "somewhat" or "very" concerned about converting their working wage to a retirement income. Fears that insufficient retirement savings have been set aside for a comfortably-off old age are thought to be widespread.
Significant distractions caused by the credit crunch and the ongoing economic downturn in the UK were also found by the Hartford. For example, 61 percent of non-retired women within the age group agreed with the statement that they are thinking more about their day-to-day personal finances rather than their retirement savings at the moment.
Among men, this figure stood at 50 percent.
Michael Rudge, UK managing director of the Hartford, commented: "It is entirely understandable that women are now worrying more about retirement than men. In addition to living longer than men, women often appreciate the cost of living more.
"While the research shows that women are more worried than men about some aspects of retirement, their worries are not unfounded. Women are paying more attention now than ever before on how to save but, especially in the 45 to 54 age bracket, often have so many pressures on both their time and money that they can find it difficult to plan for retirement."
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