The mortgage market is replete with micro markets but every now and then societal trends come together to create an entirely new opportunity. This is the case with ‘olderpreneurs.’ Buying a house fifty years ago was a relatively straight-forward event but today’s society is barely recognisable by comparison. Mortgage applicants are older and often come with multiple diverse incomes and self-employed status. It’s a challenge for advisers and lenders alike.

Recent figures show one in five self-employed individuals are over 50 years old - a number that’s been growing rapidly over the last 10 years. There were around 4.25 million self-employed workers in the United Kingdom in March 2024. Interestingly, however, almost half of all self-employed working people (48%) in the UK are aged 50 and over, according to ONS data analysed by the over-50s digital community, Rest Less. The proportion of over 50s becoming self-employed has grown year on year for the last decade, despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Multiple income sources are common in many groups of borrowers these days.

While home buyers have returned to the market their profile has changed which in part reflects the increased lack of affordability. Becoming a first-time buyer is the most expensive it has been for over 70 years, according to a one recent report by the Building Societies Association. [1]Successful first-time buyers increasingly require additional financial support from parents in addition to two higher-than-average incomes. Those not so lucky are abandoned in the rented sector.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the over 50 workforces with many businesses downsizing by letting go of older, more expensive employees. Some used this time to reassess their careers, opting to pursue freelance work.

Many over-50s are now choosing to work for themselves relishing the autonomy. In 2023, the number of 50–59-year-olds in self-employment was almost 1.2 million – a seven per cent increase on the previous year. The picture is changing when we look at self-employed business owners too. Analysis published earlier this year by IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed), found that the number of self-employed business owners aged 50 and over surged to 1.1 million in 2023 – 89,000 more than in 2020 – despite the total solo self-employed population falling by 154,000 in the same period. Of those aged 50 and over in self-employment, as many as one in six (15%) launched their businesses within the past three years and the sector’s economic contribution soared by more than £50bn in 2023, to a total of £331bn.

What does all this mean? Well, the truth of the matter, is that our changing society is making specialists of us all. From borrower, to broker, to lender, we are all finding new ways of assessing income sources, looking at company accounts, and understanding affordability. From the advice that these people require to the products they eventually purchase, a pragmatic approach that embraces the society we live in rather than the one we used to know is a pre-requisite of getting the right solutions for this demographic. Living longer and self-employment are coming together, and businesses run by older people are running for longer.

Our success as a society is reflected in our ability to live longer. It is driving changes in every aspect of the products and services older people require – and that includes the financial services products they require to sustain them.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/318234/united-kingdom-self-employed/

https://restless.co.uk/press/nearly-one-in-two-48-self-employed-people-in-the-uk-are-aged-over-50/

https://www.ipse.co.uk/policy/research/the-self-employed-landscape/the-self-employed-landscape-in-2023.html