More than a quarter of new lifetime mortgages arranged in the second quarter of 2025 were used to repay existing debts or mortgages, according to new analysis from Pure Retirement.

The lender said 27% of new plans taken out between April and June were for debt or mortgage repayment – a figure unchanged from the previous quarter but up slightly from 25% in the same period last year.

Home improvements were the next most common motivation, accounting for 23% of new lending. This represented a 2% increase compared to the first quarter of 2025, though it was a 2% drop year on year.

Other common uses remained stable. Holidays were cited as the primary purpose in 9% of cases, while both car purchases and gifting each accounted for 8% of new business. These figures showed no movement on either a quarterly or annual basis.

DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFTS

Pure Retirement also reported several shifts in demographic behaviour and product preferences during the quarter.

Lump sum lifetime mortgages regained favour, making up 56% of new business. This marked a 6% increase from Q1, when business was evenly split between lump sum and drawdown, and brought it broadly in line with the 55% preference for lump sum products recorded a year earlier.

There was also an uptick in the proportion of plans taken out on a joint lives basis. This rose to 58%, up from 53% in Q1 but just shy of the 59% figure recorded in Q2 2024.

Among single applicants, 64% were women – a modest 1% increase from the previous quarter, but down 3% year on year, indicating a relative rise in the number of male borrowers.

Paul Carter (pictured), Pure Retirement chief executive, said: “The sustainable growth of the later life lending market is built on the foundation of consumer understanding, and we hope that these figures help those actively engaging in the market learn more the patterns being seen by a leading lifetime mortgage lender.

“It’s positive to see that, according to our figures at least, the lifetime mortgage landscape continues to cater to a wide variety of demographics, which offers hope of a positive year of market growth.”