A survey conducted by Alliance Trust found that 43 per cent of British adults think that property will contribute the most to their income when they retire, compared with 31 per cent last year.

This confidence in the property market comes at the expense of company pension schemes, with the number of people expecting their scheme to be their largest contributor falling from 40 per cent last year to 36 per cent in 2007.

Hyman Wolanski, head of pensions at Alliance Trust, said it was “no surprise” that confidence in company pension schemes had fallen, but advised people not to rely solely on their homes to finance their retirement.

“People often don’t appreciate that there are many financial products available to help them save for their retirement,” he remarked.

Baring Asset Management recently claimed that 3.2 million people in the UK were relying on their property investments to provide an income during their retirement.

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