New data has shown that Brits may need well in excess of £1 million in the bank to be able to afford a comfortable retirement.

Interactive Investor showed that the figure required for what it deemed a “comfortable” retirement at the age of 55 was £1.3 million. It did qualify this with the fact that the data takes into account forecasted future inflation.

Retiring in 2024 at age 67, however, would require just over £800,000, according to the research.

A “moderate” retirement at 55, meanwhile, would necessitate over £850,000, Interactive Investor said.

Elsewhere, a “no-frills” or “basic” retirement would cost around £230,000 at 55, or £85,000 at 67 – a still not insignificant amount of money.

It is unclear whether Interactive Investor took into account care costs incurred sooner or later by the majority of Britain’s elderly population.

The data does, however, help shed light on the social care crisis in the UK, caused in large part by growing life expectancies and the country’s ageing population, as many individuals go on to live for 20, 30 or even, occasionally, 40 years beyond the retirement age.

Alice Guy, head of pensions and savings at Interactive Investor, said: “Many of us dream of early retirement but to get there in style you’ll need a seriously large pension pot. If you’re aiming to retire at 55-years-old with a comfortable standard of living in retirement, you’ll now need a pension pot worth an eye-stretching £1.3 million, based on the PLSA Retirement Living Standards. Even for a moderate retirement you’ll need around £850,000 to retire at 55 and £679,000 to retire at 60-years-old.

“With Labour rumoured to be considering reintroducing the lifetime allowance, which was previously around £1.1 million, it’s thought-provoking that this previous level of allowance was arguably not enough for a comfortable retirement if you plan to retire early. This may seem like a high figure, but it factors in future inflation and needing to plug a long gap before the state pension kicks in.

“For a basic, no-frills standard of living in retirement, you now need a pension pot worth just over £200,000 to retire at 55-years-old. This would give you a modest income of around £15,000 each year, which is only really liveable if you have no housing costs.

“With many of us living for longer, retiring early could mean you need to fund over 30 years in retirement and inflation has a big impact on how much you need. £100,000 saved now will be worth a lot less in 15 years, meaning you may need more than you think to achieve a decent standard of living in retirement.

“Using a workplace pension or SIPP is one of the best methods to save for early retirement because your investment returns are sheltered from tax, and you’ll also get and additional tax boost and employer contributions when you pay into your pension. The magic of investment compounding means it’s often easier to get to your investment goals as your returns snowball over time. Starting early and keeping on plugging away with regular investing is one of the best ways to build long-term wealth.

“With the rising state pension age, it’s important to plan ahead and prioritise your future finances. For many of us, working into our late sixties simply isn’t appealing or even possible. In the future, we’ll be increasingly reliant on our own pension savings to fund retirement, especially if we’re aiming to retire early.

“If you’re not on track with your pension then it’s important to remember that how much you need is very individual. We all have different goals when it comes to retirement and how much you needs varies massively depending on your costs, lifestyle and how long you need your pension to last. If you can afford it, then consider increasing your pension contributions as small increases really mount up and can make a big difference when it comes to retirement.”