Women are around twice as likely as men to be expecting to rely solely on the state pension for their retirement income, research suggests.

Nearly three in 10 (29%) of women surveyed for pensions and investments mutual Royal London said the state pension will be their only source of income in retirement, compared with 13% of men.

Women are also less likely to say they have checked their state pension age, with just over half (53%) of women having checked, compared with 58% of men.

Among people planning to retire before they reach state pension age, men were more likely than women to say they will use money from investments to help fund the gap.

Women were more likely than men to say they intend to rely on money from their partner’s savings during that period.

Sarah Pennells, consumer finance expert at Royal London said: “The state pension is the foundation of most people’s income in retirement, but for almost one in three women, it’s their sole form of income.”

She added: “Retirement is meant to be when you have the time to do the things you’d like to do, and for many women the state pension alone won’t give them the income they’d like.

“The cost-of-living crisis is putting extra pressure on household budgets, but relying on the state pension alone could mean many years of making very tough choices about spending.”