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According to a survey of 163 IFAs conducted by Metlife, 67 per cent said the ongoing stock market volatility has spurred their clients into changing the way they plan for their retirement.

One third of IFAs said their clients were primarily turning to cash, while 21 per cent said guaranteed pension products are now the top of the list for their clients.

However, 13 per cent said their clients are switching into other assets such as property, despite the weakening market.

Nearly half of IFAs (45 per cent) said clients are increasingly asking for advice on alternatives to traditional and drawdown annuities.

While 16 per cent said clients have been asking about pension products with unit-linked guarantees, or variable annuities with 29 per cent citing with-profits annuities and impaired life annuities as the most popular.

Dominic Grinstead, strategic development and marketing director at MetLife, said: "Stock market volatility and growing worries about inflation are raising the uncertainty that clients and advisers face.

"So it is no surprise that pensions with unit-linked guarantees are becoming more attractive as an alternative to traditional pension products.

"They address inflation by facilitating exposure to equities, which have an in-built defence against price rises in the long run, and protect pension pots against stock market falls."