Of that group nearly one in 20 will be over 70; older than the UK’s current state pension age. Indeed, more than 1 million people in the UK will still be repaying a mortgage when they’re over 71.
The average age of a homeowner who finishes paying is between 51 and 60 years old.
Ian Williams, spokesman for Ocean Finance, said: “It’s great that most people will have repaid their mortgage before they retire, but the fact that nearly one in three mortgage customers will still be repaying it once they’re aged over 61 is worrying.
“Not long ago, most homeowners would have paid off their mortgage by the time they reached their 50s and so could enjoy living a few years mortgage-free before they retired, or even choose to retire early.
“But as the average age of first-time buyers continues to rise, millions are now in a situation where they won’t have finished repaying their mortgage until they’re about to retire.”
If homeowners are still repaying a mortgage post-retirement they will have to rely on pensions and savings.
The default age of retirement has now been abandoned in the UK, yet if the statistics are anything to go by many will have to postpone their retirement aspirations to afford mortgage repayments.
Nearly one in five repayment mortgage customers living in the East Midlands will be paying off the debt when they are over 61 years old, while residents in the South West are most likely to have paid their entire debt by then.
