Homeowners retire £793,000 richer than renters on average — what your property wealth really means

Homeowners are, on average, six times wealthier at retirement than people who rent throughout their lives. That is the central finding of new research from Yorkshire Building Society, which put the typical wealth gap between the two groups at £793,000.

For homeowners already on the property ladder, the report is a striking reminder of the asset sitting beneath their feet — and a prompt to think about what role that wealth can play in later life.

The retirement savings gap in numbers

The Yorkshire Building Society report, "No way home? Restoring Britain's Housing Ladder", found that around 70% of renter households are likely to exhaust their savings before the age of 88 if they maintain the same standard of living throughout retirement. The equivalent figure for homeowners is just 6%.

Looking further ahead, the research projects that today's 30- to 40-year-olds who never get onto the property ladder could face a £1.6 million wealth gap at retirement — rising to £2.6 million over their lifetime compared with those who do buy.

The report describes this as a "lost generation of homeowners" and underlines the scale of the advantage that property ownership confers over time. The corollary for those who already own is equally clear: property wealth is not just a backdrop to their finances — for many, it is the single largest component of their total net worth.

What does this mean for homeowners thinking about retirement?

For many people aged 55 and over, their home represents a larger store of value than their pension pot, ISA savings, and any other financial assets combined. That wealth is real — but it is also illiquid. It doesn't pay a monthly income, and it can't be spent without either selling the property or borrowing against it.

The question that increasingly matters for this group is not whether they have wealth, but how — and whether — to access any of it during their lifetime.

"For many homeowners, property wealth is the single largest lever they have over their retirement security. The challenge is that it is locked up in a physical asset."

Ways homeowners access property wealth in later life

There are established financial products designed to allow older homeowners to access some of the value in their home without needing to sell up or move. Two of the most widely used are lifetime mortgages and retirement interest-only (RIO) mortgages.

A lifetime mortgage allows you to borrow a lump sum or drawdown facility against the value of your property. Interest rolls up over time, and the loan is repaid when the property is eventually sold — typically when you move into long-term care or die. No monthly repayments are required, though some products allow voluntary payments.

A retirement interest-only (RIO) mortgage works differently: you pay the interest monthly, keeping the loan balance stable, and the capital is repaid on death or when you move into care. This suits homeowners who can service regular payments and want to preserve more of the property's value for their estate.

Both approaches have grown considerably in recent years as the later-life lending market has matured and more lenders have entered the space. Products, rates, and eligibility criteria vary widely, which is why independent specialist advice matters before deciding on anything.