Age and gender play a major role when it comes to differing marital status patterns among those who take out equity release on a single life basis, according to research from leading lifetime mortgage lender Pure Retirement.
Looking across new initial loans as a whole across 2025, the lender found that 42% of new single life customers were unmarried (up from 36% in 2024), while 35% were divorced and 19% were widowed.
However, among under-65 men the proportion of unmarried single life customers rose substantially to 52%, also representing a 15% increase over the 37% seen among women in the same age group. Women in this age group, meanwhile, were more likely to be widowed (21% vs 16% of men) or divorced (38%, compared to 28% of men).
At the other extreme of the age spectrum, the prevailing marital status among single life over-80s is widowhood. Among women, this accounts for 60% of new single life business in this age group, with the proportion of comparable men being only slightly less, at 58%. While not as extreme as among under-65s, men remain more likely to be unmarried among new over-80 customers (21% vs 14% of women), while women remained more likely to be divorced (25% vs 17% of women).
The data points to a cohort of unmarried men reaching the cusp of retirement, being squeezed by rising costs of living and not having a spouse to share expenses and wider financial burdens. Among women, meanwhile, the findings point towards an increased likelihood of diminished income in later life as their share of assets either post-divorce or following a spouse’s passing begin to run out.
Speaking of these findings, Pure Retirement’s head of Distribution Scott Burman says: “While the majority of new lifetime mortgages are taken out on a joint lives’ basis, it’s nonetheless important to understand the dynamic customer profiles among single life applicants too and our latest figures show the extent to which age and gender can affect the proportion of new plans being taken out by unmarried, divorced and widowed individuals.
However, what our data consistently shows is that people either approaching retirement, or who are in the midst of their later years, are increasingly feeling the pinch of years of cost of living rises as single households. Housing equity is meeting a very real societal need for this demographic, strengthening its position as a mainstream financial planning tool for over-55s, but also one that consumers are comfortable and confident in using to achieve their financial goals.”
