NEW research out today reveals that 19% of the over 50s say they haven't saved enough money for retirement and 18% said they married the wrong person.

The top ten regrets of the over 50s were identified in research by Silversurfers.com

Top Ten Regrets of the Over 50s

1) Nearly a quarter said they hadn't seen enough of the world

2) A fifth said they didn't save enough money for retirement 

3) Almost the same amount said they married the wrong person

4) 17% said they never told their parents how much they meant to them

5) 16% chose the wrong career 

6) 16% said working long hours/spent too much time at work

7) 15% said they didn't spend enough time with their children

8) 15% claimed they worried too much about what other people thought

9) 15% wished they had learned to play a musical instrument

10) 15% regretted not asking their grandparents more about their life before they died

But despite these worrying regrets, the over 50s are feeling quite sprightly with a third saying that happiness is more important than money and a quarter revealing they feel most content at the age of 52.

Over half said that they are more experienced and can deal with many more situations, over a third said they prize their spouse above all else and a quarter feel up to 14 years younger.

In fact 45% said they feel more youthful than their parents did at the same age.

However financially they are not in such good shape.

Nest eggs are getting smaller - half of the over 50s polled said that financial security is their most important personal goal but only 12% had saved more in their 40s.

Perhaps surprisingly this age group seems financially unprepared with 28% of over 65s saying they have no nest egg saved.

The 50-55 age group is slightly better off with 25% having saved up to £10,000 and 17% having saved up to £50,000. This isn't so surprising when you consider that over two thirds of the sample where never given any advice on how much to save when they were in their 30s and 40s.

Despite this, they remain optimistic and aspire to travel the world.

Of those who have saved something for retirement almost a third would like to spend it on travel while one in five would use it to retire early.

Additionally, almost a quarter said that their biggest regret was not seeing enough of the world.

This is reflected in the over 50s Bucket List:

1) Just under a quarter would like to cruise the world

2) 17% would like to fly first class

3) 15% dream of living abroad

4) 14% would like to have grandchildren

5) 13% yearn to go on safari in Africa or travel to the USA

6) 12% would like to fall in love again

7) 10% are fond of the idea of swimming with dolphins

8) 10% think of themselves as a novelist and would like to have a book published

9) 9% wish to see their football team win the League

10) 7% see themselves as the boss and would like to run their own company

Martin Lock, CEO of Silversurfers.com said: "The over 50s have reached a point where they feel more confident about themselves and indeed almost a quarter feel 14 years younger than their age.

"However, our research shows they may not have the money to really enjoy these years. We created Silvercard+ to give the over 50s a really user friendly way to benefit from great discounts and maximise their spending power.

This group are savvy shoppers, 61% said they double check multi-buy offers in shops to make sure they really do offer better value and that's why the Silvercard+ offers straightforward money-off discounts. 

"Silvercard+ is a discount card specifically designed for the over 50s, which gives them access to exclusive offers and deals from retailers, travel companies, airlines, hotels, technology and entertainment companies which have been specifically negotiated for this audience by Silversurfers.com. We know that travel is a high priority so we have some particularly good discounts and offers in this category.."

Silversurfers Silvercard+ is free for a limited period and is available from www.silversurfers.com/silvercard