New research has found that the number of people willing to move to a smaller property or become a buy to let landlord in order to increase retirement income has fallen.
According to a report from Retirement Advantage, the data comes despite most prospective retirees acknowledging the significance of property when it comes to wealth generation.
Home is Where the Wealth Is looked at how likely people are to boost their retirement income by purchasing a buy to let property. It found that whilst just over a third (35%) were willing to consider it, 62% said that they were unlikely to do so. This is a significant change from last years proportions of 49% and 51% respectively.
Despite the research indicating that the interest in buy to let is declining, the report also found that an estimated 900,000 current landlords are over the age of 55.
Where downsizing was concerned, 20% of those surveyed claimed that they were likely to do so following their retirement, down by 6 percentage points compared to last year. For those over the age of 55, this figure is even lower, recorded at 16%.
Commenting on the findings was Alice Watson. The head of product and marketing stated: ‘There are still nearly a million landlords over 55 and for those landlords there are innovative new mortgage options available to increase ways to boost income from investment properties.
‘Property can still play a significant role in providing retirement income, though. Indeed, there is a pressing need for it to do so, as pensions and other savings are increasingly unlikely to meet many people’s retirement expectations on their own.
‘There is a real opportunity for advisers to help clients understand other ways property wealth can be accessed, routes which mean clients can stay in their home and still pass them on to next of kin.’
