Nearly half of older borrowers anticipate post-retirement mortgage payments

May 28, 2026 by Brendan O'Neill

Mortgage Advisors

New research shows that nearly half of all older borrowers think that they will still be paying off their mortgages after retirement.

That finding is taken from the Property Insights report published by Barclays Bank. The lender surveyed borrowers in the 62 to 80 age bracket and 48% said that they would still have mortgages to pay post-retirement.

When asked what their plan was to finance this, 76% stated that they would not be releasing equity from their properties. That amounts to more than three quarters of them. 31% of those who took part in the survey stated they viewed their homes as family legacies not assets to be exploited.

Some of them did indicate a willingness to use their homes for retirement financing though, with 8% saying that they would downsize. A further 5% said that using the equity built up through their homes to release funds was the plan.

What the current mortgage data held by Barclays shows is that borrowers in this age bracket usually choose larger properties. This means buying houses instead of bungalows or flats. However, that decision is partly driven by the limited availability of bungalows within the UK property market.

The data also shows that older borrowers generally by more expensive homes. Their average purchase is 25.1% more costly than homes bought by people between 28 and 43. It is 79.3% higher in price than those bought by people under 27.

This suggests that older borrowers will still need the help of a mortgage advisor with the CeMAP qualification.