The average cost of funding typical life goals including getting married, buying a home, having children and retirement is £877,000, according to a report.

The Lloyds Bank Family Savings report found that, while things like getting married cost in the region of £12,000, this pales into insignificance when compared with buying a house (£175,000 on average).

However, even that is dwarfed by the average cost of providing for a comfortable retirement. The study calculated that the joint retirement fund required to maintain an average couple’s standard of living is close to £685,000.  And for those living in the South East that can easily rise to £1.2m.