According to a survey of 1,000 adults in 12 European countries, more people in Britain are planning to use their property to fund their pension because of the state of the economy, than in most other European nations.
They are also reconsidering the age at which they will stop working, with an average delay of five years, the 'Daily Mail' reported.
The average age at which people planned to retire before 2007 was 60, but this has gone up to 65, the research found.
In comparison, French people have increased their estimated retirement age from 60 to 62, while workers in Turkey still believe they can stop work at 55.
The survey, commissioned by finance firm ING Direct, found that more than a third of Britons planned to use their property to fund their retirement, compared with less than a quarter on the continent.
"As a nation of homeowners and with property often the largest asset Brits have, it's not surprising that many people are considering downsizing as a way to fund their retirement," said ING Direct chief executive Richard Doe.
"Even though people's retirement plans have been affected by economic factors over recent years, they're often delaying in order to build up their savings to give themselves a more stable retirement," Doe said.
Currently, men can get their state pension at 65 and women must wait until they reach 61 and three months.
However, the pension eligibility ages are rising constantly, the paper said.
By 2020, state pension ages for both sexes will have reached 66, rising again to 67 by 2028. They will continue to go up, with rises likely to be linked to increasing life expectancy.
Nearly a million pensioners are working in Britain, the largest number since records began.
Nearly 10 per cent of people who are 65 and over have a job.
