The building society found almost half of the 2,000 homeowners aged over 50 which it quizzed expected to sell their property so they could pay for assisted living support in a care home.

Residential care costs, according to Nationwide’s analysis, have soared in recent years and are now more than £33,000 a year.

So, it’s no wonder over half of homeowners would prefer to continue living alone with outside help from a daily carer if they needed assistance in later life.

Just 2% would consciously choose to move to a care home if they needed support for everyday tasks, Nationwide discovered.

Its findings echo research published by Key in July which found homeowners were increasingly dipping into their property wealth to fund care. Only 4% of Key’s respondents said they would want to go into a care home.

Jason Hurwood, Nationwide’s director of home propositions, said: “As life expectancy has steadily increased, so too has the challenge of funding later life care for many.

“To help people make their choice we need to consider their circumstances and outline all the available options. It is simply not good enough that they walk away with any product but the right product.”

The data is being used by the building society to help highlight its later life borrowing options. Nationwide offers consultations to homeowners who might be considering releasing equity from their home to cover the cost of later life care.

Its study also found there were regional variations, with older homeowners in the West Midlands the most concerned about affording elderly care (75%), with those in London the least worried (60%).