“IF growing up means it would be beneath my dignity to climb a tree, I won't grow up, never grow up, never grow up, not me.”

So said Peter Pan, but it seems more and more of us are following that second star to the right, straight on ’til morning and heading to Neverland.

New research by Bournemouth-based financial services provider LV shows that some 16 million people admit to delaying at least one major life step, including marriage, having a baby or buying a home.

Brits are increasingly becoming victims of “Peter Pan syndrome”, with the average age of a first time buyer expected to rise to 41 by 2025, first time mothers reaching 29 by the same year and the average age of tying the not going up to 34 for women.

The current average age for getting hitched is 32 for men and 30 for women. Back in the 1980s, people bought their first home at 29 and today the average age for first-time buyers is 38.

With most people taking out a mortgage over 25 years, the delay will have a significant impact on people being able to pay off their mortgage before reaching retirement.

Yet, for many, the delay in becoming a homeowner is not necessarily through choice.

Along with not being ready to settle down, high cost is the main reason for people holding back on starting these life-changing events, with 14.7 million people saying they cannot afford to get married, have a child or buy a house.

For newly married Daily Echo entertainments editor Patrick Gough, 31, it was one or the other.

“Most of my friends have got their own houses, but we’ve just got married, so now we’ll have to start saving again,” he said.

“It’s hard because we like our house, but we can’t do anything to it. But buying is just not an option at the moment.”

Reporter Julie Magee, however, had rather different reasons for delaying marriage.

“It was probably more the fear factor than anything else,” she said.

“We’d been together for 14 years and owned houses together, but we’d just bought a new house and doubled up the mortgage and decided to have a kitchen rather than a big wedding,” she explained.

“We ended up spending £2,000 on the whole wedding. It was a very small do. Steve had been married before and had children and we were both probably a bit frightened of the commitment. But you can’t get much more commitment than having a mortgage.”

Richard Rowney, LV life and pensions managing director, said the cost of living was having a major impact on when Brits were able to settle down, have children and buy a house.

He added: “Many people are struggling to afford these major life steps and our report shows this is set to get worse in the years to come as the average age for marriage, starting a family and getting on the housing ladder are all set to increase.

“Faced with high property prices, high inflation, uncertainty over the movement of interest rates and a tough economic climate, it is not surprising Brits are developing ‘Peter Pan syndrome’.”

But he warned there could be tough consequences for those who did choose to leave it until later in life to buy a home in particular.

“People need to consider the long term financial impact of delaying major financial steps, particularly if it means they still have high debts to pay when they are much older and approaching retirement.”