Most people with a mortgage will have always had it in mind that they wanted it paid off by the time they retire. There is, however, a type of mortgage that you can have for the rest of your life and not pay one penny back for as long as you live. In my opinion it’s one of the most under-used financial products available and it could benefit thousands of over 55’s. The main reason that we don’t have so many people taking out these types of mortgage is simply because they do not know about them.

Would you lend money to somebody who had a bad reputation for not paying people back? Or somebody who would really struggle to pay you back because their income is too low? Not many of us would. In the past the mortgage market has been very different, sometimes less questions were asked than we would ask ourselves if it were our own money.

Although the European Union plans to draft new proposals on responsible lending and borrowing at the end of the year, the Financial Services Authority is pressing ahead with its plans now. It feels that any delay would be to the deterrent of the market.