Research and analysis

Support for Mortgage Interest: mortgage borrowing and claiming in retirement

This report examines why people are taking mortgages into retirement and why they may rely on Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI).

From:
Department for Work and Pensions
Published
1 August 2017

Documents

Research into mortgage borrowing and claiming Support for Mortgage Interest in retirement

Ref: ISBN 978 1 911003 66 3, RR942

PDF, 3.04 MB, 99 pages

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Summary: Research into mortgage borrowing and claiming Support for Mortgage Interest in retirement

PDF, 288 KB, 3 pages

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology.

Request an accessible format.
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email accessible.formats@dwp.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

This report looks at:

  • the views of mortgagors approaching and in retirement
  • SMI claimants of both working age and in retirement

It seeks to understand why people are taking mortgages into retirement and when they rely on SMI, why they do so.

Evidence suggests that of the 150,000 SMI claimants, 45% are retired mortgagers claiming pensions credit, with this trend increasing over previous years. The findings from this research will inform:

  • thinking about appropriate policy responses to the phenomenon of mortgage borrowing into retirement
  • future development of SMI

This research provides strong support for the change to SMI as a loan.

Authors: Anna Ellison, Martin Coates and Tony Dignan (Policis).

Support for Mortgage Interest: attitudes towards taking the support as a loan has been published alongside this report to stimulate discussion with key stakeholders to deliver SMI loans.

Published 1 August 2017

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