Banks and building societies are seeing a spike in elderly people searching out long term home loans.
The number of people aged over 50 who are searching for mortgages running from 21-25 years is up 83 per cent from a year ago.
Among this group is a number of OAPs aged 70, according to research by Legal and General.
The data confirms record numbers of Britons will still be paying off mortgages well past retirement age and the point they collect their pension.
An increasing number of people of all ages are seeking extended mortgages against the background of high interest rates as this reduces monthly repayments to make them affordable.
But this means that people will lose a significant chunk of their pension income to loan repayments, while the final interest rate bill will be higher.
The figures also show that the number of over 50s who have searched for mortgages with 10 to 15-year terms has increased by 156 percent in the past year.
Legal and General said the findings coincide with a growing trend of people working longer and often transitioning into retirement gradually.
It said the increase reflects a tangible rise in the volume of older remortgagers liable to carry large amounts of mortgage debt well past retirement age.
Some 28 percent of all remortgage searches in the first three months of the year were from a customer aged over 50.
The data also found the average remortgage loan amounts are also increasing with the figure up by some £22,000 on a year ago to £224,129.
The size of the average loan amounts varies according to the age group of the remortgaging customer. The figure for borrowers aged 18-30 was largely unchanged on a year ago at an average of £207,720, while for those aged 51-55 were borrowing 18.9 percent more than a year ago at £197,343.
Managing director at Legal and General Mortgage Services, Kevin Roberts, said: “As our data has revealed, there is a significant increase in homeowners aged over 50 looking to remortgage on a term that is likely to spill over into their retirement, although how and when people retire looks to be changing.
“In a challenging and dynamic interest rate environment, a large uptick in remortgaging requests was perhaps inevitable.”
He added: “If interest rates remained low, many homeowners might have stayed put and renewed with their existing lender. But in a newly competitive market, more people than ever are carefully considering their options to ensure they can access the best rate possible.”
