More older people are using property to boost their income
Many older people are looking to their property assets to help fund their retirement, with research based on more than 300,000 landlord insurance quotes showing a significant trend in emerging retiree landlords - or 'grandlords', as they have been dubbed.
Research showed an increase in older landlords of 11 per cent last year - and rising by 33 per cent since 2009. There has been a particular increase in female pensioners renting out a property, with an increase of 12 per cent in 2012 and 43 per cent since 2009.
With pensions and savings taking a heavy blow in the wake of the global financial crisis, many retirees are no longer finding these sources of income adequate to sustain a reasonable retirement income. A flat housing market has also deterred many people from selling. Rental, meanwhile, remains relatively strong, promising good returns for would-be landlords. As a result, many retirees now opt to keep their property and let it out when downsizing or moving in with family.
There is also evidence to suggest the extra cash is convincing older people to stick with the rental market as a longer term investment. The research shows that, despite the majority letting out just one property (93%), three quarters of retirement age landlords (74%) have now been doing so for more than three years.
However, at the same time the number of 18-25 year old landlords has declined, with a 38 per cent decrease over the past three years.
Jason Stockwood of Simply Business, who commisioned the 2012 research, believes that in today’s economic climate, choosing to rent out your property rather than sell immediately has been a good option for many when looking to move. "With the current squeeze on pensions, this is proving a good source of income for people of retirement age," he says. "Buy-to-let can be a tough marketplace to enter, but there is a great deal of support available for those looking to take the plunge."