According to data collected by LCP, two out of every five new home loans are subject to lending conditions that are beyond pensionable age.
This was compared to just three in 10 new marathon mortgages issued by lenders at the end of 2021, the consultancy said, considering the latest Bank of England mortgage statistics for the second quarter of this year. said. 
More than 40% of new loans issued in the second quarter were for long periods of time (typically 30 years or more) before the mortgage holder retired.
According to estimates by a consultancy firm, more than 1 million new mortgages for people above pension age have been issued since the end of 2021.
It said the increase in mortgage marathons over the past two years appears to have occurred “mainly among younger age groups”, adding that the absolute number of under-40s taking out a mortgage in preparation for retirement has increased by 30%.
The company explains that one reason for super-long-term mortgages may be affordability, as “younger borrowers are opting for extended terms in response to high interest rates.”
However, the magazine notes that even though mortgage rates “now appear to be on the decline”, the proportion of new long-term mortgages still remains at around two-fifths. .
LCP Partner Steve Webb, who served as Pensions Minister for five years from 2010, said: “Taking out mortgages beyond pension age is not a one-off, but a deep-rooted feature of the mortgage market. There is growing evidence that this is the case.”
“This has significant implications for retirement planning, as savers may use up their already insufficient pension funds to clear their mortgage balances.”
“Those involved in helping today's workers plan for their retirement need to take into account the possibility that they will not be able to afford housing until retirement, or that they may have to finance it from already meager pension funds. be.”
