More 2 Life study shows 37 per cent of over-55s want no limits on borrowing and 47 per cent believe lending should be based on ability to repay.
Older borrowers want to see age limits on lending scrapped as the pension revolution highlights the need for new solutions to maximise retirement income, new research by retirement lending specialists more 2 life shows.
A poll of 1,060 adults aged 45 plus conducted in March shows 47 per cent believe lenders should base decisions on borrowers’ ability to pay.
Dave Harris, managing director at More 2 Life, said: “Pensioners and those in the run-up to retirement need flexibility and are entirely capable of making informed and sensible decisions as long as there are lenders willing to lend.
“Regulators have quite rightly focused on the need to stop irresponsible lending but that is having a chilling effect on lending to responsible borrowers and even those in their 40s as recent Fos rulings have shown.
“Retirement lending will be a growth area in the future as innovation in retirement income planning develops and it is one that the industry as a whole should be looking at now – one of the drivers for that growth will be the huge number of interest-only mortgages due to mature over the next 15 years or so where the borrower has no means of fully repaying their debt.”
The more 2 life research shows 17 per cent of over-65s expect to borrow or have already borrowed money in retirement.
Figures from the FCA suggest there will be 40,000 interest-only mortgages maturing each year between 2017 and 2032 where the borrower is aged 65 or above.
Last week Citizens Advice said that around a million people could have their homes repossessed because they have no way of paying off their interest-only mortgages.
New research from the charity found that 934,000 people have interest-only mortgages and do not have a plan on how to pay if off when their term ends.
Citizens Advice said that time is running out for some people, who will either have to sell their homes, find the capital to pay off the debt or could risk having the property repossessed.
emma.hughes@ft.com
