There were 36,050 new loans advanced to borrowers over 55 in Q1 2026, down 4.8% on the year before, according to the latest later life mortgage lending update from UK Finance.
The value of this lending was £6bn, up 0.3% from the same quarter a year ago.
Lenders advanced 5,300 new lifetime mortgages in Q1, which was down 8% on the year, and down 7.2% from the previous quarter.
The total value of lifetime mortgage lending was £490m.
There were 353 retirement interest only mortgages advanced in Q1, up 5.4% year on year, with the value unchanged at £33m.
Residential later life loans made up 8.2% of all residential loans in Q1.
Later life buy-to-let (BTL) loans accounted for 20.1% of all BTL loans.
Jim Boyd, chief executive of the Equity Release Council, said: “Retirement is increasingly becoming a balancing act between pensions, savings and property wealth, and today’s figures reflect that shift.
“The fall in lifetime mortgage activity mirrors the more cautious mood across the wider mortgage market, with economic uncertainty and pricing pressures continuing to slow decision making. However, demand clearly has not disappeared.
“The Pensions Commission has recently reported that 15 million people are currently not saving adequately for retirement.”
Boyd added: “As pension pressures continue to build, housing wealth will play a growing role in helping drive financial resilience in later life.
“Modern later life lending products have transformed significantly in recent years, with greater flexibility and stronger consumer protections helping accelerate confidence across the market.”