25% of lifetime mortgage applicants now using funds for debt and mortgage repayments

Pure Retirement has analysed its customer data for Q4 2024, finding a number of demographic shifts on both a quarterly and annual basis.

The lender’s usage data now sees one in four people (25%) primarily releasing funds for debt and mortgage repayments – the highest it’s been on both a quarterly and annual basis (both 23%), and overtaking home improvements (23% in Q4 2024) as the most common reason for releasing funds. 

One in ten (10%) of people continue to cite holidays as the main reason for accessing the equity in their home, a proportion that’s remained consistent over the past year. 

Gifting and car purchases round out the top five most popular reasons, albeit with reductions in proportions. In Q4 2024 gifting accounted for 7% of primary usage for released funds, down from 10% in Q4 2023, while the proportion of released funds being used for car purchases has also fallen from 9% to 7% on an annual basis.

Shifts in plan type preference, application type, and single applicant gender

The lender’s data also points to a preference toward drawdown plans, which now accounts for 51% of its new business. While this remains static on a quarterly basis, it represents a 7% annual swing, where only 44% of new business was on a drawdown basis in Q4 2023.

The proportion of customers taking out lifetime mortgages on a joint basis has also increased, accounting for 59% of new business in Q4, representing a 3% rise compared to Q3 and a 1% rise on an annual basis.

The amount of single life business coming from male applicants in Q4 2024 was the highest it’s been over the prior twelve months, at 37%. While still a minority compared to the 63% coming from female applicants, it nonetheless represents a 7% swing from Q3.

Pure Retirement's CEO, Paul Carter, commented: “The latest findings continue to demonstrate that the lifetime mortgage customer is constantly evolving, and that as an industry we need to remain proactive in identifying these trends and similarly evolving with them to continue offering effective lifetime mortgage solutions that meet a range of needs. It’s going to be a key challenge in 2025, and one which all of us at Pure Retirement are committed to meeting.”