Take comfort planning for your golden years
PREPARING your house for later life does not come cheap with over-65s spending an average of £10,400 on home improvements.
Many are keen to make practical changes such as installing a bathroom downstairs and adding handrails and stair rails, or even chair lifts to make their homes more manageable.
Others are keen to spend money on the garden to tidy it up and make it easier to look after as they get older.
One in three over-65s plans work to ensure their home is “retirement ready”, according to new research from Key Retirement.
One in eight plans to spend as much as £20,000 to ensure they can continue to live in their house for the rest of their life.
Almost one in four are considering upgrading their central heating, with similar numbers looking at installing double or triple glazing. Other popular home improvement projects include building an extension for relatives or live-in carers, considered by more than one in 10 over-65s.
More than three quarters are confident they have enough savings to pay for the planned improvements, but others are forced to cash in some of their pension or even take out a bank loan to pay for the work.
Dean Mirfin, chief product officer at Key Retirement, said millions want to stay in their homes, but need to adapt them for a time when they are less physically able: “Growing numbers are funding the improvements by dipping into their property wealth using an equity release scheme.”