Using Property To Fund Your Retirement

According to property website Standard Life, millions of property owners across the UK readily rely upon the annuity they receive from downsizing their properties to help fund their retirement…

Yet despite the attractions of this investment route, many property advisors are advising property owners in their late thirties/forties to not solely rely upon their homes due to the fluctuating property market.

From 2008 to 2010, property owners who chose to downsize their properties lost as much as £500 a year in annuities, dropping from £2,777 in 2008 to just £2,262 a year in 2010.

Another contributing factor influencing property advisors opinions is falling annuity rates. In the last 2 years alone, annuity rates have dropped by 1.2% - a drop of 8% to 6.8%!

Speaking on their research, it is easy to see why Standard Life are advising property owners who have got a good 20-30 years wait before they retire to consider additional investments routes.

Taking the recent recession PLUS the repetitive nature of the UK property market into consideration, another recession in the next 20+ years could easily be on the cards.

Continuing on this topic, Standard Life has also divulged that where you live could also be an influencing factor towards the size of the annuity you receive…

Property owners in Greater London for example can look forward to annuities of up to £8,000 a year, whilst property investments of the same type in the north of the UK will receive less than £2,000.

Original Article