3X Increase in Elderly Saddled with Outstanding Mortgage Loans from 2008 to 2013!

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

More elderly with outstanding mortgage loans in S’pore

October 24th, 2014 | Author: Editorial

According to data from Credit Bureau Singapore, as reported by the media yesterday (23 Oct), the number of elderly private home owners with outstanding mortgage loans from financial institutions has almost triple from 2008 to this year.

In Jul 2008, the figure was 5,190. By Jul this year, this number has ballooned to 15,506.

The figure refers to those Singaporeans and permanent residents aged 65 and above still servicing their outstanding mortgage loans.

Experts said there is no cause for concern in Singapore as these elderly private home owners with outstanding mortgage loans only make up 3.2% of all residents with bank mortgage loans.
At the same time, not everyone with an outstanding home loan at age 65 or above is in financial difficulty, the experts added.

“(The increase) is a cause for concern only if loan holders aged 65 and above face a higher risk of difficulty in servicing their mortgage payment (during) retirement and are ‘underwater’ on their mortgages,” said Singapore Management University economist Phang Sock Yong.

Instead, some retirees might have taken out mortgage loans for investment properties, which yield rental income, she said.

For HDB home owners, the picture is much better. As of the end of July, 93 per cent of elderly households have fully paid for their flats, the HDB said in response to media queries. This is out of the 102,000 households with owners aged 65 and above.

Majority of Singaporeans are concerned about retirement

Meanwhile, according to another survey commissioned by AIA, majority of Singaporeans are concerned about not saving enough for retirement.

About 55% of Singaporeans said they are concerned, compared with the overall figure of 44 per cent across Southeast Asia, AIA said. AIA’s survey was released last Friday (20 Oct).
Additionally, 67% of Singaporeans indicated that healthcare was the top cost concern.

Also revealed in the survey was 74% of Singaporeans indicating that they are satisfied with their lives.

About 500 Singaporeans were involved in the AIA survey, which spanned six countries in Southeast Asia.


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