Ipswich combines later life and standard resi into one range

Ipswich Building Society will no longer be operating ‘later life’ mortgages aimed solely at over 50s, instead combining its ranges into one set of standard residential mortgages.

The society, which is set to rebrand to Suffolk Building Society later in 2021, has no maximum age caps on its standard residential products taken on repayment terms.

Interest-only products will be capped at age 95 at the end of the term.

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The changes are the latest improvement to the society’s ongoing commitment to later life lending, which will still have an older borrower focus but is shifting towards a customer-led approach over a product-led one.

The society will, however, be retaining an exclusive option for later life applicants with a minimum age of 55.

For working applicants, the lender will continue to accept self-employed manual workers, or those with an employed income, to age 70 – or declared pension age if lower – or those with self-employed non-manual incomes to age 75.

Decisions in principle (DIPs) on withdrawn products will be accepted until 12 May. All DIPs received prior to the deadline will be honoured and no deadline is set for subsequent fully packaged applications.

Charlotte Grimshaw, head of intermediary relations at Ipswich Building Society, said: “We remain absolutely committed to later life lending as we understand the challenges many older borrowers have faced in the past and continue to face today.

“In many circumstances, older borrowers present a low risk to lenders because their pensionable income is stable and guaranteed and therefore, it simply makes sense that they can select from the same products as other borrowers.

“We know that being tied in to any financial product later in life may be a concern for intermediary clients, which is why we’ve decided to retain an option for now which is specifically aimed at this group.

“With no early repayment charges, borrowers will have peace of mind that should they need to downsize or should their health take a downturn, they are able to pay off their mortgage with no additional costs.

“As part of the product redesign, we will also be introducing specific, separate products for borrowing taken out on an interest only basis (including part and part) and on a repayment basis.

“Splitting products by repayment type will make it easier for intermediaries to identify the different options available for their clients, as well as allow us to have closer monitoring and control over our product proposition.”