Retirement and me: ‘Exhausted’ arthritis sufferer faces work after state pension age | Personal Finance | Finance

Psychologist Dr Linda Papadopoulos, said: “There are two key reactions to issues that cause stress, one is to ignore them which just delays finding a solution to the problem. 

“The other is to panic which can also exacerbate it. People experiencing retirement anxiety may be thinking about it constantly, be unable to sleep, and generally feeling overwhelmed and it can really impact things such as relationships and performance at work.”

Planning for retirement is now regarded as a ‘stressful life event’, ranked more stressful than divorce by the 40-44 age group. Meanwhile, across all ages, job losses and moving house are still among the most stressful life events.

Another factor in the increase in ‘retirement anxiety’ is people’s concern about their lack of planning with over a fifth saying they were embarrassed about their lack of planning.