Some 36 per cent of people planning to retire this year are helping other family members financially, according to new research by Prudential.
Those who support their family financially, have been paying out nearly £250 a month or almost £3,000 over the course of a year on average. Nearly one in eight have been paying more than £500 a month.
The results showed that the money being provided by retirees to their dependents was most likely to be used for everyday living costs – 11 per cent said they gave money on a regular basis to cover everyday living costs, for example food or travel.
Some eight per cent will make a one-off contribution to the cost of a luxury purchase like a new car, a holiday or a new television.

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Eight per cent contributed financially to their grandchildren's upbringing and six per cent are helping to cover the cost of at least one family member's university education.
The dependents of these retirees were made up primarily of their children and their partners (56 per cent), the study showed.
Their grandchildren and their partners were next in the list at 27 per cent, then other family members at 10 per cent.
Stan Russell, retirement income expert at Prudential, said: "The financial pressures faced by all age groups, ranging from the cost of buying a home to the cost of funding education, mean that financial commitments to family members are now not ending when retirement starts.
"A large proportion of this year's retirees will be providing support to their families through one form or another and as a result they will see their retirement incomes squeezed.
"Even if the financial support they offer is minimal, many new pensioners will continue to play an important role in providing a home for other family members.
"This may of course have an impact on any future plans to downsize and will obviously need to be factored into a retiree's budgeting plans for their post-work years."