Published 10 November 2025 · Last reviewed 1 May 2026

Getting the maximum mortgage for older borrowers

Why is age so important when getting a mortgage?

In this article, I discuss the maximum age in relation to purchasing a residential property on a repayment mortgage, i.e., a property you intend to live in and pay off the capital (as well as the interest) as you go.

Background

The Mortgage Lenders are required to demonstrate to their Regulator, The Financial Conduct Authority they are “lending responsibly” i.e. you can afford to repay the debt now and from their deductions in the future.

Borrowing money over a longer duration increases the overall cost and may also require you to work longer to keep the mortgage affordable.

The majority of Mortgage Lenders will have a specified maximum age. This could be shorter for manual workers or if you are taking an ” interest-only” mortgage.

Benefits of a longer term

So what is the attraction of getting a longer mortgage? Well, it will reduce the monthly payment and could enable you to borrow more, so you could buy a more expensive property.

When determining the maximum duration, Mortgage Lenders will ask you for your planned retirement age. A minority of lenders will assume that if you’re working for the public sector, you will receive a very generous pension and therefore are more likely to stick to the state retirement age rather than your own selected date.

The Mortgage Lender might set a maximum age at the start of the mortgage as well as at the end of the mortgage.

How does borrowing over a longer duration impact the amount you can borrow?

The length of the mortgage term can directly affect the amount you are able to borrow. This is because the monthly mortgage payment becomes lower. However, you must note that borrowing the money for longer will result in the overall cost being higher, so it is not always advisable and should be talked through with a professional Mortgage Broker, such as Niche Advice.

Example 1: Single lady, aged 25 years old, first time buyer, employed in an office on £50,000 per annum, buying a terraced house in the South East with a 15% deposit. No personal debts or dependants. Council tax £200 and buildings insurance £30. Taking a five year fixed rate on a repayment basis.

Mortgage Lender	Term 5 years	Term 10 years	Term 20 years	Term 25 years	Term 35 years
Barclays	£100,127	£172,212	£250,000	£250,000	£250,000
Halifax	£107,745	£184,705	£275,000	£275,000	£275,000
HSBC	£107,950	£188,400	£275,000	£275,000	£275,000
NatWest	£122,500	£216,000	£250,000	£250,000	£250,000
Nationwide	£95,500	£167,600	£263,400	£294,600	£300,000
Santander	£114,468	£199,332			£250,000

Rates and affordability figures as at 7/11/2025 run using Mortgage Broker Tools (MBT).

Example 2: joint, aged 35 and 30 years old, next time buyers. Applicant 1 self-employed £45,000 net profit in the latest year and £37,000 the year before buying with his partner who is employed part-time at a nursery on £14,000 per annum. Buying a flat in London (service charge £150pcm and ground rent £12pa) with a 10% deposit. 1 child. aged 6 years, no child care costs and in receipt of child benefit. Car loan £10,000, paying £150 a month. Credit card balance £1,500. Council tax £195. Taking a five year fixed rate on a repayment basis.

Mortgage Lender	Term 5 years	Term 10 years	Term 20 years	Term 25 years	Term 35 years
Barclays	£86,774	£149,245	£226,600	£249,911	£253,029
Halifax	£96,850	£166,025	£250,720	£253,029	£253,029
HSBC	£82,250	£143,550	£221,100	£245,050	£273,450
NatWest	£110,500	£194,800	£281,700	£281,700	£281,700
Nationwide	£93,600	£161,100	£244,800	£253,100	£253,100
Santander	£96,985	£168,887	£261,713	£281,770	£281,770

Rates and affordability figures as at 8/11/2025 run using Mortgage Broker Tools (MBT).

Key factors when determining the maximum age for a mortgage

• Health.
• Your occupation.
• Number of jobs.
• The amount of manual work involved.
• Commuting distance to work.
• How near are you currently to either the state retirement age or the expected retirement age?
• Whether you are currently contributing to a pension.
• If this is a joint application, the age of the co-borrower.
• Level of “non-earned” income, such as drawn pensions and property income.
• Whether the State Benefits you are on stop at specific dates.
• Lender’s past experience/database, and internal credit score.

Solutions

We have over 90 Mortgage Lenders from the mainstream high street up to the more flexible broker-only specialist lenders.
We have access to Mortgage Lenders that:

• will go up to the age of 80 to 85 years on earned income.
• will ignore the eldest applicant’s age if their income is not needed to support the Mortgage Affordability Assessment.
• do NOT have a maximum age entry of a mortgage. Bear in mind, some Mortgage Lenders will have a second rule on the minimum term, which will need to be met. This could be 3, 5 or 10 years until their maximum end of term age, so you would need to work this back.
• that allow multiple jobs and income streams.
• will consider the transition from a manual post to a supervisory/management role later on in your career.

As a footnote, it’s also prudent to take the necessary insurance to help preserve your income. You should also consider insurance to provide a regular or lump sum in the event of a loss of life in a joint case.