In a world where it’s fine to go on telly and blab about your sex life, how much you weigh or how often you shave your, erm, legs, there’s still one big fat taboo.

Just don’t mention the word ‘money’.

Apparently, most of us would do anything rather than talk to those our partner or family about our bank account.

And, if you’re thinking this veil of secrecy is lifted as you get older, you’d be very wrong.

Insurance company Aviva asked 1,000 people who had already retired, or were about to retire, whether they’d had ‘That Conversation’ with their loved ones.

More than a quarter admitted they’ve never broached the subject of cash with their family, not even their other half.

And although two-thirds of over-55s said they had discussed their plans with their partner, only one in five had also had a chat about it to their wider family.

Despite this reluctance to spill the financial beans, almost half those questioned said it was important for them to have enough money from their pensions and savings to be able to help out their children and grandchildren.

So why is money and future financial security still the elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about?

Around half of us see retirement arrangements as a ‘personal matter’ and simply don’t want to get our families involved.

But there’s another, more worrying, reason.

A quarter feel they just don’t know enough about their own finances to have a proper family discussion and it’s 55 to 64-year-olds who are most likely to think this way.

It’s doubly concerning when you remember that it comes against the backdrop of sweeping changes which give us all much greater freedom over how we spend our pension pots.

New rules which were unveiled in the Government’s Budget in March, mean rather than having to use pension savings to buy an annuity (an annual income for life), we can cash in our pension savings and spend their money how we want.

And it’s not just money and retirement we don’t want to think about.

Apparently, none of us want to face up to the fact we’re going to die, either, because Aviva’s report found that just three in five of over-55s have made a will.

Granted, this does rise to more than three-quarters in those aged over 75 but that still leaves an awful lot of OAPs who are in major denial.

Clive Bolton, Aviva’s managing director of retirement solutions, says this proves it’s important for “honest conversations” to take place within families about finances.

He says: “These findings reveal a stark difference between what people want to do about their retirement finances in respect of their families, and what they put into practice.

“The reality is that failing to address the needs of those close to you could mean they may lose out.”

Sounds like it’s time for more of us to let it all hang out – at least, when it comes to our finances.