Cautiously Optimistic? UK Households' Perceptions of Old Age
Anwen JONES, Mark BEVAN and Deborah QUILGARS CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC? UK HOUSEHOLDS’ PERCEPTIONS OF OLD AGE, RETIREMENT AND THE ROLE OF HOUSING EQUITY Abstract. The paper explores UK home owners’ expecta- tions of income and care in older age and their views on using housing equity. Findings suggest a lack of con- fidence in the ability of the state to provide adequate retirement income and care. Most households were con- fident that they could build sufficient savings and assets to meet their needs. Younger respondents were more willing to consider drawing on housing equity than older people, however, they too were suspicious of equi- ty release products. Overall, people tended to favour downsizing over other options as they wished to retain a property to bequeath to their children. Keywords: Home owners, old age, care, income, hou- 994 sing equity, inheritance. Introduction Home ownership in the UK Home ownership has grown steadily, although not evenly, over the last century in the UK to a position where it is now the majority tenure, with 70 per cent of households now being owner-occupiers. Although the 1990s recession decreased consumer preferences for homeownership slightly, it quickly recovered and by 2005, it was over 80 per cent (Stephens et al., 2008). Following more than a decade of boom, the UK housing market has recently experienced a period of bust with an average annual fall in house prices of 16 per cent in 2008. Nevertheless, housing wealth remains a considerable potential resource for homeowners, particularly those over the age of 65, the majority of whom (64 %) are outright owners.
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