More than 650,000 people aged 65 and over are still paying mortgages, according to research from online mortgage company mform.co.uk.  It has found that almost 1 in 5 homeowners aged 65 plus have not cleared their mortgage by the State pension age.

The research shows that OAPs are spending an average of £283 a month on their mortgages despite the fact that average pensioner incomes are estimated at just £263 a week, or £13,600 a year.

Francis Ghiloni, marketing and business development director of mform.co.uk, said: “It is worrying that so many people are still paying mortgages when they could have stopped working. Monthly mortgage payments can be a strain on pensioner incomes at a time when every penny counts.”