Pensioners are being driven to gambling in orderto supplement their income, according to a new report from financial giant, Prudential.

One of the most surprising findings from the report, Prudential's Retirement Index, is that an estimated 160,000 pensioners have taken up gambling in retirement. Significantly, this represents those pensioners who gamble to make ends meet rather than buying an odd lottery ticket or placing £5 on the Grand National.

Several gambling charities, including Gordon House, have reported an increase in the number of pensioners who need help for gambling problems. Director, Ian Semel said, "Many really see this as a way of adding to their income. We have had pensioners as old as 85 contacting us for advice."

Age Concern said 80% of people who fall foul of get rich quick lottery scams are aged over 65 and urged all pensioners to be cautious of unsolicited phone calls. The Office of Fair Trading has also found that lottery scams are the most common confidence tricks. Typically, people are told they have won a prize, but have to either pay a fee to collect their winnings or phone a premium rate phone line. The prizes either don't exist or are virtually worthless.

Interviewing over 1000 people, The Prudential report found that the most common way of boosting retirement income was returning to work. More retired people are being forced back into, mainly part-time jobs, to supplement pension income.

It also showed that equity release mortgages, which allow pensioners to release some of the value of their home, are becoming more popular.

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