Over 60s and pensioners
Mortgages for the over 60s and pensioners
Being turned down at 62 by a bank you have used for thirty years is common, and it rarely means the mortgage is not available — it means that lender stops at 70. Others lend to 80, 85, or have no upper age limit at all. We spend 40+ years' worth of lender knowledge on finding the ones that will say yes on pension or part-pension income.
How lending in later life works
Age at the end of the term is the test
Some lenders stop at 70 or 75, others go to 80, 85, or set no maximum at all. Choosing from the right group is most of the job.
Pension income counts
State pension, occupational and private pensions, annuities and sustainable drawdown are all accepted — with a statement or forecast to back them up.
Retirement interest-only
Pay the interest monthly on your pension income and the balance stays put, repaid on sale, a move into care, or death.
Downsizing as a repayment plan
Selling later can be accepted as the plan where there is substantial equity. Lender rules on the minimum differ, so we check before you apply.
Later-life mortgage questions
What people in their sixties and seventies ask us most.
- Is there an age limit for getting a mortgage?
- There is no legal limit, but lenders set their own. Many cap the age at the end of the term at 70 or 75, a good number go to 80 or 85, and a handful — mostly building societies — have no maximum age at all provided the income supporting the payments will continue. The number that matters is your age when the mortgage finishes, not when it starts.
- Can I get a mortgage on pension income?
- Yes. State pension, occupational and private pensions, annuities and drawdown are all accepted by lenders that lend into retirement. They will ask for a recent pension statement or your latest P60, and for drawdown they will look at whether the pot can sustain the withdrawals for the whole term.
- I am still working at 62 — will they use my salary?
- For the part of the term before your stated retirement age, yes. After that point lenders switch to your projected retirement income, so they usually ask for a pension forecast. If the term runs past retirement, affordability is tested on the lower, post-retirement figure — which is why the term you choose matters so much.
- What is a retirement interest-only mortgage?
- A RIO mortgage has no fixed end date. You pay the interest each month, so the balance never grows, and the loan is repaid when you move into long-term care, sell, or on death. Affordability is tested on your pension income. It is different from equity release, where you usually pay nothing and the interest rolls up.
- Can I use downsizing as the repayment plan?
- Some lenders accept sale of the property as a repayment strategy for an interest-only mortgage in later life, generally where there is a large amount of equity — often requiring a minimum remaining value of £150,000 or more after the loan is repaid. Conditions vary a lot between lenders, so it needs checking case by case.
- Should I consider equity release instead?
- Only after the ordinary options have been ruled out. A standard or retirement interest-only mortgage is usually cheaper over time because the debt does not roll up. Equity release can be right where there is no income to service payments, but it reduces what is left to your family and deserves proper advice, including a conversation with them.