People consider their homes to be a Key Part of their Retirement Plans

August 17, 2016

A new survey has unveiled the fact that most people consider their homes to be a vital part of their retirement plans. Some people have homes worth more than their retirement savings and some are worried about paying off the mortgages. Some even consider it an investment that would pay off later in life. People also want to avoid downsizing post retirement and some even deny that their home is a part of the retirement wealth.

How can a Home be a part of Retirement Plans?

The survey was done by Aviva, a British multinational company offering Insurance plans. It found out that about 46 percent people who are more than 45 years of age think that property is a key part of the retirement plans. In the same survey, about 69 percent admitted that the home they own is worth more than all their savings plus investments plus pension.

About 23 percent of people over 45 were worried about being able to pay the mortgage off. About 16 percent admitted that they may need to borrow money in retirement while 31 percent planned to give money to their children so that the children can become first time buyers. About 56 percent of people also expected the housing wealth to be a tool that can help pay for their care expenses later in life. About 61 percent think that the housing wealth is a vital part of their inheritance planning.

Avoiding the Downsizing

About 80 percent of the respondents were reluctant to let go of their homes post retirement. They want to stay in it as long as possible. In contrast, about 26 percent had already downsized or planned to do it in the future. People who wish to avoid downsizing have many reasons such as not wanting to let go of their friends, the transport links, the communities, etc. They also wish to avoid the stress related to going through the house selling and house buying process. All these factors were shared by Roger Marsden who serves as Equity Release Managing Director at Aviva.

Home as a part of Retirement Wealth

About 39 percent people over the age of 75 said that the home was a vital part of retirement plans because it could help them get some extra wealth. Respondents over 45 years of age wanted to use the wealth for pay for care later in life and they also wanted to use it to pay for house adaptations. About 61 percent of respondents over 45 years of age perceived the property wealth as a crucial part of the inheritance planning process.