About to retire? How to make your income go further Despite the self-imposed cutbacks, those aged over 55 are struggling to meet monthly debt repayments. Unsecured debt among this age group has risen by 36pc in just two years - they now typically owe £23,188 in personal loans and credit cards. More worryingly, those approaching retirement shoulder the majority of the unsecured debt. At a time when they should be paying as much as possible into their pension, borrowers aged between 55 and 64 have seen debts on credit cards and personal loans rise by £6,752 in two years. Clive Bolton of Aviva said that for many people short-term borrowing was a necessary step to manage living costs - but when daily outgoings were stretched by the demands of basic essentials, they could find regular repayments difficult to maintain. In order to meet these debt payments the over-55s are plundering their savings. The average savings pot for that age group is down by a whopping 36pc, having peaked in September last year. The most significant reduction in savings was among those in the first decade of retirement, whose pot has halved over the past 12 months as living costs escalated. Angela Seymour-Jackson of rival financial services company Aegon said the crucial advice to avoid pensioner poverty was to act fast. "Younger respondents are more at risk of a retirement crisis than any generation that has gone before," she said. They are increasingly becoming aware that they will have to start planning for the possibility that they will need to support ageing parents, themselves and their children in later life. "This 'squeezed generation" is most at risk of stumbling into an impoverished retirement if they don't act soon. Longer life expectancy, lower pension contributions, reducing state support and increasing financial dependency from family members make planning for retirement all the more important. She advocated that younger workers enrol in their workplace pension scheme in order to benefit from company and government contributions. While those still in work have seen incomes typically increase by £166 a month, those aged between 65 and 74 suffered an £18 loss of monthly income in the past 12 months, while the typical over-75 in May 2013 survives on £109 less each month than they did last year. This is due to ever-decreasing returns from savings and investments. Only three in 10 over-55s now rely on the income generated by savings and investments; the majority instead have to plunder capital. For those with foresight, personal pensions are making up the difference - and wages are proving a welcome boost for those who choose to work past retirement age. Retired people do have options available to them to help boost their incomes and their savings. We outline the possibilities below. If you have taken breaks from earning to raise children, been self-employed or seen your pension fund dwindle with a dodgy investment, you could find yourself eligible for pension credit. Pension credit guarantees that no individual should live on less than £145 a week, or £222 for couples. If your income is at a level where you require pension credit, you are unlikely to have to pay council tax, and you will receive free dental care and subsidised spectacles. You will also qualify for help with the cost of fuel in the winter and, potentially, assistance with service charges and ground rent on your home. There is no upper savings limit for pension credit but if you have savings of more than £6,000 the benefits are reduced. You may be of pensionable age - but likely as not you don't feel like a pensioner. If you are 65 it is probable that either you or your partner will hit 100, which means you'll spend almost as long in retirement as you did saving for it. Mark Dampier of Hargreaves Lansdown, the stockbroker, said retirees had the wrong idea about pension saving. According to him, just because you hit 60 it doesn't mean you must automatically switch all your savings and investments into "safe" assets such as cash and government bonds. "You wouldn't tell someone in their thirties to invest in low-income investments," he said. You'd tell them they had a long-term investment horizon and they should be biasing their portfolio towards smaller companies, emerging markets and high-yielding bonds. Someone in their sixties should have at least a proportion of the same. Retirement can now last a long time. As you approach retirement, pension companies will often automatically move you out of riskier investments and into low-income, less volatile assets. This is not compulsory, however, so if you already hold a lot of cash and gilts outside your company pension it is a good idea to ask your scheme not to switch your assets. This way you can carry on growing your pension pot - even after you retire. When considering their wealth, the majority of pensioners surveyed by Aviva considered their property to be their greatest asset. Having benefited from the 20-year housing boom to the end of 2007, nearly two thirds said they planned to leave the family home to their children. In contrast, only a third received this asset from their own parents. But a sixth of these retired people have seen their wealth affected by the recent property crash, which means they will have less to leave in their will, or, should they need the money earlier, less to live on should they opt for equity release. Equity release is a way of raising money against the value of a home. No repayments are made until the sale of the home, when the individual dies or goes into a nursing home. Typically around 40pc of the value of a property is available, which can then be used as a lump sum or to generate an income. Age UK, the charity, has fact sheets about equity release but recommends that advice should always be taken - preferably in conjunction with other family members. If you are nervous about equity release, Lee Robertson, a financial adviser at Investment Quorum, advised downsizing. "For home owners this may release capital which can be used for income purposes; for those renting there would be a rent saving," he said. Fuel bills, which are a major concern, could also be lowered this way. Mike Carpenter, a financial planner at Carpenter Rees, said it was becoming more common to see people over the age of 65 working. "It is most visible in Sainsbury's, Waitrose and other supermarkets when shopping, but is becoming more common in other workplace environments," he said. We see this trend continuing. There are some who will work due to a need for income and others who enjoy work and would be alone at home. Indeed, B&Q and Pimlico Plumbers have both had employees over the age of 90 in recent years. Mr Carpenter said the "annuitisied value" of this little bit of extra income was enormous. This is the lump sum you would have had to save to buy an annuity that pays the same level of income. For example, if you could earn £5,000 a year - a couple of supermarket shifts a week - and were in good health, the cost of buying the equivalent annuity, without any inflation linking or a pension for your spouse, would be £86,200. "For many older workers this seems a significant option," said Mr Carpenter.