The elderly and mortgage debt

Fears for elderly people with mortgage debt A report by Bristol University and the International Longevity Centre (ILC-UK) found that about 40 percent of people aged 75 and over, who still have a mortgage to pay off, have an interest-only mortgage with no linked investment with which to pay their loan back. This figure dropped to just six percent for people aged between 50 and 54 who still have a mortgage. Interest-only mortgages, which allow borrowers to pay off the capital only when the mortgage term ends, have become much more thin on the ground since the boom years amid concerns about people not being able to pay back their debt. Earlier this year, the Financial Conduct Authority found that home owners have been failing to put enough money aside on up to half of the 2.6 million interest-only mortgages which are due for repayment over the next 30 years. The research also found that among everyone aged over 50 with an outstanding mortgage, the average amount still owed was £62,200. At least 14 percent of older mortgaged households had taken on a new home loan or extended their mortgage in the last couple of years. (Source: The Yorkshire Post)