Homeowners Foresee Long-term Mortgage Commitment

More than a third of homeowners predict they will be nearing retirement before they own their own home, new research suggests.

Responding to a One Account survey, 36 per cent of homeowners predicted they would be at least 60-years-olds before they paid off their mortgage.

A further 20 per cent didn't expect to fully pay off their mortgage until some time in their 50s, with many also complaining that mortgage commitments were impeding on other areas of their life.

More than two in five claimed not to be able to save because of their mortgage, while nearly one in five 25 to 29-year-olds said it was forcing them to delay starting a family.

However, Debbie Milsom from One Account questioned why homeowners were finding their mortgage such a burden.

Paying off a mortgage should not mean that people have to put their life plans on hold, Ms Milsom said.

She added: It is worrying that homeowners perceive that it will take them until they are in their 60s before they pay it off when they should be spending this time preparing financially for their futures.

Ms Milsom reminded homeowners that there are often flexible solutions for managing payments.

Homeowners with overly expensive payments may also find remortgaging can help to reduce their monthly commitment.

As less people are putting money into pensions, more could begin looking at remortgaging to ensure economic stability during their later years.

Figures released by Moneyfacts have shown that personal pension returns have fallen by as much as a half in the last decade.

The news means that even if Britons are putting the same amount of money into their pension pot every year, their average with-profits pension fund could be half what it would have been in 1996.

These latest figures should serve as a powerful reminder that securing a comfortable retirement will only be possible for those individuals who actively monitor and manage their own pension provision, warned Richard Eagling, editor of Investment, Life & Pensions at Moneyfacts.

The research from Moneyfacts could cause more people to consider other options of financing their retirement, with taking out a remortgaging and downsizing their homes one method to increase the amount of money available in later life.

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