One in three homeowners will still be paying mortage after retirement

A recent study has produced the sobering news that one in three homeowners will still be paying a mortgage beyond retirement.

Research carried out by Ocean Finance has shown that just under 32 percent of people with mortgages will be 61 before the loan is paid off and at least one in 20 people will still be paying a mortgage past their 70^th birthday.

The figures highlight the proportion of householders in the country with home loans who will either need to increase their monthly repayments in advance of retirement or continue paying a mortgage when they draw their pension.

As an average guide, most people in Britain will have cleared their repayment mortgage between the ages of 51 and 60 years old.

However, Ian Williams of Ocean Finance says "It's great that most people will have repaid their mortgage before they retire, but the fact that nearly one in three mortgage customers will still be re-paying once they're aged over 61 is worrying".

He goes on to say "Not long ago most homeowners would have paid off their mortgage by the time they reached their fifties and so could enjoy living a few years mortgage-free before they retired, or even chose to retire early".

The report suggests that as the age of first time buyers continues to rise this has led to millions of people estimated not to have finished paying off their mortgages by the time they wish to retire.

The advice from Ocean is if your lender will allow it and your finances permit, increase your monthly mortgage repayments as soon as you can to decrease the debt much earlier.

If you need the advice of an experienced property and conveyancing solicitor then call Mandy Peters on 0208 297 4000 or email advice@mandypeterssolicitors.co.uk.

Mandy Peters

London Property Solicitors

Tel: 0208 297 4000