26% of the rented market comprises of retired people throughout England and Wales which was taken from the ONS census data by a leading Insurance, Investment and Pensions company.  

Unsurprisingly two London boroughs that are experiencing high unemployment have the highest percentage of retired people renting their homes at 73% in Hackney and Tower Hamlets.

 

Throughout the capital the overall figure for pensioners is  now standing at over one in three of the rental market, 36%.

Manchester has the highest amount of retired people renting , roughly 50% to those who own their own homes, with Kingston upon Hull following shortly behind with 47%, Norwich at 45%, South Tyneside 42% and Newcastle upon Tyne with 41%.

The research arm of the company has discovered that many of the retired renters had sold their family homes to free up income for their retirement.

Stan Russell, retirement expert at the company, said: “These statistics help explain why many people look to spend their retirement away from big cities. Living in a home you own can be less of a drain on your retirement income than paying rent, however with property prices in many urban areas higher than in other parts of the country, it’s no wonder that in cities such as Manchester, Hull, Newcastle, Norwich and Liverpool the number of retired homeowners is only just higher than the number of retired renters.

“Pensioners who choose to retire outside major cities and go where property prices are generally lower can boost their retirement incomes and reduce living costs by downsizing. Many can also maintain a higher quality of life by remaining in a home they own rather than taking on the potential extra cost of paying rent.

“However, people approaching retirement should not rely solely on regional fluctuations in the property market to be able maintain their quality of life when the time comes to stop working. The simple advice is to save as much as possible into a pension as early as possible, and to seek assistance from a financial adviser or retirement specialist to help with retirement income planning.”

Areas that have the least number of pensioners renting are Castle Point in Essex with only 11%, Fareham, Epson and Ewell and East Dorset have less than one in eight households(out of the total of rented homes) that are rented by pensioners.