Prudential claims pensioners retain equity from their mortgage

Date:Wednesday 26th August 2009
Author: Max Freedman

Pensioners will still have plenty of equity in their houses as their mortgage deals benefitted from longer term growth, according to Prudential.

Keith Haggert, director of lifetime mortgages at the financial services provider, suggested that over-65s would be happy to hear that the fall in house prices over the last few years had slowed down.

He claimed that pensioners could potentially see their wealth increase if asking prices begin to go up again, as they will have seen the benefits of long-term growth in the value of their home.

"Of course falling property prices have affected every homeowner, but it's important to remember that many homeowners now aged 65 and above bought their homes years ago," he said.

Figures from Prudential's Equity Release Index indicate that homeowners in England and Wales of 65 years of age and over have equity of £611 billion in equity.

The company recently released figures showing that 30 per cent of people on an occupational pension scheme do not check how their investment is performing, which could affect their retirement income.