Older people in the UK are having difficulty maintaining their mortgage payments, new figures have suggested.
Released by the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS), the findings revealed an escalation in the number of over-60s seeking assistance with their home loan arrears.
It was shown that instances of individuals in this age group contacting the debt charity for help has climbed by 44 per cent since 2009.
This was markedly higher than the average increases of three per cent seen across all age groups during this time – and the organisation has urged family members to seek help if their elderly relatives appear to be having trouble paying what they owe.
Delroy Corinaldi, director of external affairs at CCCS, noted current low interest rates means the trend is of particular concern, adding: “With many older people taking higher levels of debt with them into retirement, this could be the start of a long-term trend towards far higher levels of mortgage difficulty.”
The charity revealed that of the 5,719 UK homeowners over the age of 60 who contacted the charity regarding unmanageable debt last year, 1,111 had mortgage arrears .