With the life expectancy of people in the UK increasing on a yearly basis, more and more older people are searching for money to help see them through retirement and beyond. Unfortunately, getting a loan as an older person is difficult to do from standard high street lenders, because of your age and other connecting factors.
Lenders consider older people as higher risks to their means than a younger borrower would be, but there are a number of different providers that cater specifically to the older generation.
Irrespective of your reasons for needing a loan – perhaps you need to cover care costs or want to spend your retirement exploring the world – age is just a number, and there are lenders out there who will provide the older generation with the money that they need.
What Are The Risks In Lending To An Older Person?
One of the risks attached to lending to older people is the fact that, due to their age and limited incomes, they run the risk of not being able to meet the cost of repayments. As a result, lenders willing to offer money to older people will do so at a higher rate, payable over a shorter term or else completely refuse their application altogether.
All is not lost, as other criteria are often taken into consideration when considering whether an older person would make a good loan candidate or not, such as the amount of equity they possess through the form of a family home.
What Are The Viable Lending Options For Older People?
Secured Loans
With this in mind, lenders can choose to consider a borrower on the basis that they have equity. Loans given would, in turn, be secured against the value of the home, rather than through an unsecured personal loan, which would likely be offered to someone on the younger end of the spectrum.
At the same time, there are perfectly good reasons why retired people with housing equity might not want to use this equity as a means of funding a project. If their investment is performing well, for example, they might want to keep their assets invested, meaning that they will benefit from any higher returns the investment might bring.
Personal Loans
As a retiree, unsecured personal loans are the most popular option to take out. With a fixed term for repayments and a fixed monthly cost, these loans aren’t particularly flexible, but most providers do offer the option to repay the entire amount at any time. This may well be useful to you if you decide to sell some of your equity at a later date and want rid of the monthly repayments.
Remortgage
If a personal loan isn’t something that appeals to you, then a remortgage could be a more suitable option. If you have a large amount of equity and are willing to remortgage this in order to raise finance, then lenders are more than willing to consider borrowers between the ages of 70 and 85. People who hold a large amount of equity, but a smaller income may well be suited to this option.
Equity Release
If you’re looking for something that allows you access to the equity, with no repayments until after you have passed, then equity release mortgages might be more suited to your needs. Equity release mortgages allow for the interest accrued on the loan to be built up and repaid on death, allowing you the freedom to enjoy the money you have borrowed without having to worry about monthly repayments.
Credit Card
If neither mortgages nor loans are the way forward for you, a final option could be through a credit card. Credit cards can be used effectively as personal loans, and there is often an option to take out a credit card with a 0% interest rate over a promotional period of time. Such credit cards have the option of balance transfers, meaning that any debts you may be using a loan to repay can be consolidated into one place and made easier to repay.
When searching for a loan provider, taking into consideration the upper age limit and the minimum annual income is key to determining which providers will consider your application.
Regardless of the method, you choose to take out, late repayments on loans result in consequences and can cause you some serious financial problems further down the line. Don’t apply for more than one loan at a time, as this can seriously affect your credit history and make sure you only borrow what you can afford to pay back.
