One in four pensioner households across England and Wales currently rents their home the research from the Prudential shows and the London boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Hackney have the highest proportion of retired renters at 73%, bringing the overall average for pensioners renting in London to 36%.
Outside the capital city, Manchester has the highest proportion of pensioner households that rent, with a near 50-50 split between owning and renting. Kingston upon Hull at 47%, Norwich at 45%, South Tyneside at 42% and Newcastle upon Tyne at 41% also have high proportions of retired renters.
In contrast, Castle Point in Essex has the highest proportion of pensioner home owners, with just 11% of retired households renting. Fareham in Hampshire at 11%, Epsom and Ewell in Surrey at 12% and East Dorset, also at 12%, all have retired populations where fewer than one in eight pensioner households rent.
Prudential research earlier this year identified a rise in retired renters, with many home owners selling their properties in order to turn their equity into cash to boost their retirement incomes.
‘These statistics help explain why many people look to spend their retirement away from big cities. Living in a home you own can be less of a drain on your retirement income than paying rent, however with property prices in many urban areas higher than in other parts of the country, it’s no wonder that in cities such as Manchester, Hull, Newcastle, Norwich and Liverpool the number of retired home owners is only just higher than the number of retired renters,’ said Stan Russell, retirement expert at Prudential.
‘Pensioners who choose to retire outside major cities and go where property prices are generally lower can boost their retirement incomes and reduce living costs by downsizing. Many can also maintain a higher quality of life by remaining in a home they own rather than taking on the potential extra cost of paying rent,’ he explained.
‘However, people approaching retirement should not rely solely on regional fluctuations in the property market to be able maintain their quality of life when the time comes to stop working. The simple advice is to save as much as possible into a pension as early as possible, and to seek assistance from a financial adviser or retirement specialist to help with retirement income planning,’ he added.
