According to lender More 2 Life, up to 103,000 over-65 households are paying mortgages with around 81,000 households in the 65-74 age group and 22,000 in over-75 age groups.

This age group is predicted to be spending around £1.36bn a year in clearing home loans.

The high number of over-65s still clearing home loans reflects changing work patterns as more people work past the traditional retirement age coupled with the rising age of first-time buyers,

Jon King, managing director of More 2 Life, said: “There is a potential mortgage timebomb ticking with pensioners paying home loans way past traditional retirement ages.

“Some can afford to pay off their mortgages but many will face income shocks and could really struggle if they still need to pay off a home loan as well as paying for the basics.”

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More 2 Life estimated that around 4.6m over-65s own their homes outright while another 2.2m either rent privately or through social housing.

The lender predicts that the issue is likely to become a bigger problem as more homeowners with interest-only mortgages come to the end of their term.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates 150,000 interest-only loans will mature each year until 2020.