HouseDog Posted May 10, 2006 Share Posted May 10, 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4758759.stm Pensioners 'face mortgage burden' Wednesday, 10 May 2006, 23:01 GMT 00:01 UK One in six pensioners are still burdened by a mortgage in retirement, a Scottish Widows bank survey suggests. The bank said pensioner debt levels are higher because people are buying homes later in life and remortgaging to provide retirement income. The trend may continue with just over half of people aged between 55 and 65 still having to pay a mortgage. The cost of mortgage repayments also stops many people from saving for pensions, the bank added. "By the time they come to retire a significant number of pensioners still have a mortgage outstanding on their property, adding pressure to their hard-earned retirement fund," Murdo McHardy, Scottish Widows bank spokesman said. Longer term, Mr McHardy said that, given the average age of first-time homebuyers was rising, it was likely the proportion of people still paying off a mortgage in later life would also increase. Scottish Widows questioned 1,472 people over the age of 55 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 A lot of pensioners could sell up and downsize. That would be the sensible thing to do. Many are attached to their old family home which is often too big for them. We have young couples starting families living in small flats without gardens while many oldies are rambling about in their mansions struggling to pay the bills. Seems crazy to me!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleBubbleTrouble Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 This is shocking news. Really shocking. And it's only going to get worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethel Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 A lot of pensioners could sell up and downsize. That would be the sensible thing to do. Many are attached to their old family home which is often too big for them. We have young couples starting families living in small flats without gardens while many oldies are rambling about in their mansions struggling to pay the bills. Seems crazy to me!! I couldn't agree more. And they complain about not being able to pay their large council tax bills with their meagre pensions... so they want council tax to be abolished for all pensioners. I don't think so! The simple answer - downsize and pay less!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Herbert Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 I couldn't agree more. And they complain about not being able to pay their large council tax bills with their meagre pensions... so they want council tax to be abolished for all pensioners. I don't think so! The simple answer - downsize and pay less!!! Yep! lets also campaign for compulsory euthanasia at 65, that'll fix the old buggers up and sort out the pension mess in one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rain'ard Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 Yes that’s a good Idea, which means I’ll only have a few years to go. But, trouble is, I bet there’ going to be a long waiting list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethel Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 Yep! lets also campaign for compulsory euthanasia at 65, that'll fix the old buggers up and sort out the pension mess in one! Absolutely not, they just need to live within their means like the rest of us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rain'ard Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 Absolutely not, they just need to live within their means like the rest of us. Ethel, He' joking. We hope otherwise he would have used the term Scum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bears all Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 In defence of pensioners - in a scarily short time I'll be one - they're often people who have been let down by the government / their former employers in terms of how much income they have. Moreover, if you downsize to a two-bed bungalow how are your kids ever going to come and stay with you? It's not an easy ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frugalstar Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 (edited) Moreover, if you downsize to a two-bed bungalow how are your kids ever going to come and stay with you? It's not an easy ride. Yes, what a worry. When "the kids" in question can't afford bedrooms for their actual children who actually still live with them. Different world. Edited May 11, 2006 by frugalstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachman Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 (edited) What I don't get is why you are not questioning the logic of why pensioners today are still in debt when they retire. In most cases I guess it's MEW or overstretching at a time when they don't need to move to a bigger house and they know when they want to retire yet they have increased their debts in the meantime. If you are 40 and want to retire at 50, why the cluck are you taking a mortgage that will take you beyond 50 - why on earth - bear in mind these are people who made this decision a long time ago.... I repectfully suggest there is an awful lot of spin in that article. Typically people take on their biggest debts when they need to step up to a bigger house for a family, not when the kids have flown the coop (those that take cash out to pay for kids' deposits are a bit barmy if they overstretch). Read it carefully, it's suggesting one in 6 pensioners today is retiring still with a mortgage, these are NOT the people who should be still paying for that family home they brought kids up in and had to pay Xmillion times multiple for. It's ironic that the richest people in the country as a whole are also pensioners - does that not tell you that 1 in 6 has played silly buggers with their money and houses ? Edited May 11, 2006 by Rachman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cupidstunt Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 A lot of pensioners could sell up and downsize. That would be the sensible thing to do. Many are attached to their old family home which is often too big for them. We have young couples starting families living in small flats without gardens while many oldies are rambling about in their mansions struggling to pay the bills. Seems crazy to me!! Have to agree, and many will have to - soon. What with rising Council taxes and Utility bills many of these people will have no choice and for most it's probably a good idea. Having seen the scenario first hand, my parents couldn't have made a better decision than moving into sheltered accommodation - and they've never been happier! Many elderly people "struggle to survive" in what becomes more of a Prison than a family home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randall Herbert Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 (edited) WheresmyFoxhole So you're PatPrimer's alter ego then!!! Edited May 11, 2006 by Randall Herbert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Converted Lurker Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 So..they`re re-mortgaging to get by due to their pensions being poor, how on earth would they then (en masse) help their off spring onto the first-rung, which so many media sources are claiming is happening currently? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkG Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 Indeed. Their house is their pension, and their kids' inheritance, yet they're still paying a mortgage on it... uh, something doesn't add up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHERWICK Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 (edited) So..they`re re-mortgaging to get by due to their pensions being poor, how on earth would they then (en masse) help their off spring onto the first-rung, which so many media sources are claiming is happening currently? because the house they bought in the 1970s for about 4k is now worth well over £400k (like my mum's). This means that they can both MEW (my mum hasn't done this, and will not) AND lend to children to 'help them on the ladder' (which I certainly don't want her to ever do, although she's offered). Edited May 11, 2006 by SHERWICK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachman Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 because the house they bought in the 1970s for about 4k is now worth well over £400k (like my mum's). This means that they can both MEW (my mum hasn't done this, and will not) AND lend to children to 'help them on the ladder' (which I certainly don't want her to ever do, although she's offered). Right, so what's the problem - they want cash, they want to help their kids and they want to be mortgage free - I'll have that cake please. Like I said, BS article. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkG Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 Right, so what's the problem - they want cash, they want to help their kids and they want to be mortgage free - I'll have that cake please. Pretty soon we'll have the old farts on TV saying 'no-one told us we had to pay the MEW money back!'... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 This downsizing idea comes straight out of Mao's little Red Book, eh? Next you'll be joining the SWP :-! Ok, on the face of it it makes sense, but there are many reasons why people want to stay in a home that they have known most of their lives. One reason is familiarity and the community around them -- another is that some people spent years tending their garden, and in their old age it becomes the focal point of their life. Besides that, council tax never used to be as expensive as it is, so using this as a pretense to tell pensioners they now have to give over their homes, because other people, more worthy of the house because they (can) have kids need it, doesn't quite fly. If that is the criteria you think is OK to use, we should first discuss how much of your possessions can be liberated from your grasp to be redistributed amongst the poor, because you don't really 'need' it, so you can be free of sin (and wealth) before you descend on the pensioners with your communistic endeavours. The pensioners are not 'the enemy' - the problem is that new builds in this country are glorified toilets with added bedspace, not places that people would care to call and treat as homes. Looking around properties up for sale and rent, you can be amazed in what kind of small cupboards a wall can be inserted to turn it into '2 bedrooms'. Most 'bedrooms' in this country would be too small to qualify as a German dogkennel (the RSPCA equiv will turn up, measuring tape in hand and free your pooch from it's 'prison') -- think about the implication. We need more and better build houses with _space_ for people, pets and plants! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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