Since 2009 local authority income from care home residents in England has increased 18 per cent, NFU Mutual said, and at least eight people a day have a legal charge placed on their property in order to recoup care costs.

Sean McCann, chartered financial planner at NFU Mutual, said: “None of us can know whether we’ll need care in later life or how much we’ll have to pay. Even the best financial plan won’t allow you to avoid some costs, but it can help increase how much you leave to your family.

“There is no one-size-fits-all approach, but there are steps that can be taken to protect your savings. There is some very straightforward planning that can help, especially around pensions and inheritance tax, although with the constant changes to the rules you need to keep your eye on the ball to make sure you don’t pay more tax than you have to.”

Changes to pensions and tax (41 per cent) and reduced income from the death of a spouse or partner (31 per cent) were also powerful fears.  

Poor financial decisions (20 per cent), performance of investments (19 per cent), the property market (17 per cent), financial support for children or grandchildren (11 per cent), inheritance tax (11 per cent), divorce (10 per cent) and ‘other’ (three per cent) rounded out the top 10. 

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