New research has identified a trend of ‘buy-to-let-to-retire’ among older people. According to a study carried out by Prudential, 20% of over-55s are considering buying their ideal retirement property now but letting it out until they are ready to move in when they retire.

The trend of ‘buy-to-let-to-retire’ appears to be challenging the traditional route of simply selling up and downsizing as a one-off property deal on retirement. Of those over-55s who have already made a buy-to-let investment, nearly one in three (32%) said they had done so to secure a property to live in one day.

Many of those looking to buy their ideal home for retirement will exploit the changes to pension regulations that came into force in April 2015. More than half (52%) of over-55s looking to ‘buy-to-let-to-retire’ said they would consider using a lump sum from their pension savings to fund all or part of the purchase of their ideal retirement property.

Meanwhile, Prudential’s research also found that some older people ‘buy-to-let-to-bequeath’. Just over one in six (17%) over-55s with existing buy-to-let investments said they chose to invest in bricks and mortar so they could hand down a property to a loved one in the future.