Surveying more than 10,000 over-55s, Aviva found that those who believe they should pay for their care aren't prepared to pay more than £3,610 for a lifetime of support. This is substantially less than what it costs for just one year in a residential home in the West Midlands (£26,676).

Aviva noted that over-55s in the Midlands appeared to have slightly opposing views with 77 per cent of those in the West Midlands believing that people should not have to pay for care while the East Midlands figure was 59 per cent. In Yorkshire the figure was 79 per cent, nine points up from the national average. The survey also found that 11 per cent of over-55s in the Midlands admitted to being terrified about the prospect of meeting their care costs.

Michelle Mitchell, charity director of Age UK, said: "Many older people and their families believe that care in later life is free and often don't realise it's not until they or their loved one reaches the point when they need it.

"The reality is that care is very expensive, access to decent services is sparse and the quality is often poor. Many local authorities ration care services to those with the highest needs. Out of the two million older people in England who need care, around 800,000 receive no formal help from public or private sector agencies. With spending cuts underway the figure is likely to reach one million between 2012 and 2014."

She added: "We all need to plan more for our retirement but at the same time the government needs to take the reins and reform our crumbling care system once and for all. The escalating crisis in our social care system shames our country and shames the politicians who allow it to continue. Politicians need to park party politics and commit to working together to ensure that the Dilnot and Law Commission reports are not allowed to gather dust but become the basis of a future care system that no longer fails the most vulnerable people in our society."