Mortgages 'paid off by age of 55'

The proportion of Britons that have paid their mortgages off drops considerably at age 55, research by Birmingham Midshires has revealed.

Its survey showed that the proportion of people in their early 50s who are still paying off a mortgage is still considerably high at just over 40 per cent.

But this figure halves to 22 per cent for those aged 55 and over.

"The saying goes that life begins at 40 but it is interesting to see our research indicates otherwise," said Jason Robinson, director of savings operations at Birmingham Midshires.

"This could be down to a number of economic and social factors, such as rising house prices and people having children later in life, all of which take their toll on the age of financial independence," he added.

The poll was part of the mortgage advisor's larger research on the life of those over 50.

It showed that almost half of all those over 50 have children living at home, a figure that drops to one in six by the time they are 55.

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