People in the UK may be forced to work until they are 70-years-old in a bid to reduce public debt, a report is set to say.

The National Institute for Economic and Social Research is believed to have come to this conclusion in its latest report, which asserts that the government will be unable to repay its debts until 2023.

According to the thinktank, the government has three options, which could see the state pension age increased to 60 for women and 65 for men.

Ray Barrell, a senior research fellow at the institute, told the Daily Telegraph: "The choice is we have got to raise income tax a lot, cut spending a lot or work longer.

"There is a stronger case for extending working lives because we’re all living so much longer."

In his latest Budget, the chancellor Alistair Darling said that public sector net borrowing will be £175 billion this year, or some 12.4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

UK net debt, which includes the cost of stabilising the banking system, will, as a share of GDP, increase from 59 per cent this year to 68 per cent next.