The majority of UK employees now expect to work beyond 65, research by the Cass Business School shows.
More than 50 per cent of the 2,000 members of defined contribution schemes, interviewed in a survey by YouGov, Aon Hewitt and the Cass Business School, said they would work past 65.
Almost one in 10 claimed they will work into their 70s, while one in 50 said they will never retire.
Most workers also expected to draw a pension of less than half their salary.
The report’s co-author Professor Andrew Clare, of the Cass Business School, said: “Members of employer-sponsored DC schemes have grasped the harsh realities of the 21st century pensions world.
“A greater number of people now expect to work beyond 65 than those who say they will retire before this age.
“Britons have waved goodbye to the ‘golden generation’ of early pensioners, with many considering working beyond 65 as the new norm.”
The 30-page report - called In a Brave New Pensions World, What Will DC Members Really Want? - also said members are planning to use a number of different sources to fund their retirement.
These include property downsizing, a buy-to-let investment and an inheritence from a family member.
But Isas represent the largest alternative source of retirement income - outside pensions themselves - with 39 per cent planning to use one.
Kevin Wesbroom, a senior partner at Aon Hewitt, said: “There is a new found realism among employees in terms of the level of pension they can expect.
“For private sector DC members, the old expectation of two-thirds of pre-retirement income is now consigned to history.”
A large proportion of people - 33 per cent - said they expected to gradually wind-down from work, reducing their working hours until eventually retiring.
Mr Wesbroom added that the changing approach to retirement presents a challenge for employers who will also have to alter their expectations about how workers retire.
Adviser view
Bill Gartland, of Merseyside-based Gartland Financial Solutions, said: “I think most people are going to work beyond 65 because of the pure economics of the situation.
“People won’t have enough to live on unless they defer until a bit later and keep saving.”