One in five over 55s are considering buying their ideal retirement home now and letting it out until they retire, according to research from a pensions provider.
Prudential found that more than half of pension savers plan to raid their pension savings to fund their ideal retirement home.
Prudential says the trend of ‘buy-to-let-to-retire’ appears to be challenging the traditional route of simply selling up and downsizing as a one-off property deal on retirement. Of those over-55s who have already made a buy-to-let investment, nearly one in three (32%) said they had done so to secure a property to live in one day.
Many of those looking to buy their ideal home for retirement will exploit the changes to pension regulations that came into force in April 2015. More than half (52%) of over-55s looking to ‘buy-to-let-to-retire’ said they would consider using a lump sum from their pension savings to fund all or part of the purchase of their ideal retirement property.
Meanwhile, Prudential’s research also found that some older people ‘buy-to-let-to-bequeath’. Just over one in six (17%) over-55s with existing buy-to-let investments said they chose to invest in bricks and mortar so they could hand down a property to a loved one in the future.
The findings also highlight the popularity of buy-to-let generally among older people in the post-pension freedoms world. Nearly three in 10 (29%) over-55s surveyed said they planned to make a buy-to-let investment in the next two years. Of those over-55s planning a buy-to-let investment, seven in 10 (70%) said they would be investing in the sector for the first time.
The advent of older people opting to buy-to-let-to retire is an interesting development, and in a post-pension freedoms world its appeal is understandable.
Rutland and Stamford have been quoted as being two of the best areas to live and retire according to a new survey by the Halifax.
The analysis was based on factors including residents’ health, life expectancy, crime rate, weather, employment, school results, broadband and personal wellbeing.
Residents are said to be in good health, have a high employment rate, benefit from a low amount of crime and enjoy less rainfall and more sunshine than the national average!
With reports clarifying Rutland & Stamford rents and property values rising, we at Osprey, as Lettings specialists, are able to offer unbiased professional advice on what to buy and where depending on your long term goals.