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Retirees to rely on state pensions to make vital home changes
18 September 2008 11:00
Many Britons approaching retirement expect to have to adapt their homes to meet their needs in old age, according to a new survey, yet lack the means to fund these changes.
Nearly half of all over-55s think they will need to install items such as stair-lifts, handrails and ramps in their properties after retirement, Newcastle Building Society's poll revealed, with this apparatus costing nearly £4,000 to implement on average.
Yet over one in three plan to use their state pension to pay for all this equipment, even though it only comes to a slightly higher £4,500 per year, while nearly one in five admit that they have no idea how they will pay for all of these adaptations.
Fortunately, other future retirees are better prepared, with nearly half intending to dip into their savings in order to fund the necessary changes and nearly one in three to use a private pension, although only one in 11 will turn to equity release.
Newcastle's retail sales executive Bob Mottershead asserted that most soon-to-be pensioners are overlooking their biggest asset, the money tied up in their homes and stressed the need to educate Britons of all ages of the benefits of equity release products.
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