Selfish old people

Retired people are among the least concerned with the environment, with the research indicating that pensioners may be some of the biggest carbon culprits, spending almost a quarter of their leisure income on travel, according to the Abbey Lifestyle Report.

For this group their personal health is the biggest concern and they are the section of society with the biggest fear of being victims of crime.

Retired people are the most pessimistic, with just 21 per cent believing that they will have a better quality of life next year.

Full figures show:

The retired community is least worried about their money, the second least worried about government policy (yet vote more than any other groups), most worried about their health, most worried about crime, most worried about terrorism, second least worried about relationships, and joint-least worried about the environment.

Groups studied were: Students; single adults without children; married/cohabiting adults without children; parents with dependent children; and retired Britons.