Lenders revealed that six in six (or 67%) of single applicants who are purely retired are women, up from 64% in 2023.
Pure Retirement shares its data to expand understanding of how a single female equity release applicant looks like. The study was before International Women’s Day on March 8.
It was found that in 2024, 38% of single women’s new businesses come from real estate owners worth between £250,000 and £399,000, and another 15% come from home owners, worth between £400,000 and £549,000.
In addition, 3% of female single life applicants’ business comes from £1 million property owners.
The figures are compared with 32% of male single applicants who are property owners worth £250,000 to £399,000, while 14% come from home owners worth between £400,000 and £549,000, while 4% of new single male clients are property owners worth over £1 million.
From plan preferences and marital status, 55% of single women prefer to draw plans over one-time styles, while Pure said it stayed the same year-on-year.
By comparison, 52% of individual male applicants prefer a one-time plan. However, this number is down from 60% seen in 2023.
Among Pure applicants, 36% of single women divorced, a 4% increase from last year, while 38% lost their widows, a 6% decrease from 2023.
One in five single women are unmarried in 2024, up from 18% in 2023.
By comparison, 27% of single applicants divorced, up from 22% in 2023, unmarried 36%, an increase of 6% per year and widowed 27%, 8% lower than last year.
In terms of loan use, single women are more likely to use funds for home renovations than men, 22% respectively.
The data also suggests that women are unlikely to use published funds for debt and mortgage repayments (22% of women, compared to 24% for men).
Women are also less likely to release purchase funds than men, but are more likely to give gifts to family and friends, while the holidays remain unchanged among both genders, one in ten.
This information emerged ahead of the theme of International Women’s Day and 2025’s “Accelerating Action”.
Pure mortgage service Suzanne Latimer said: “The latest discovery continues to demonstrate the different demographic trends between single life and female clients in the lifelong loan sector and by different needs that are expanded.”
“This requires not only the need for a variety of products that are suitable for a variety of situations, but also the overall and adaptable customer service throughout the mortgage journey after completion to ensure the best results for consumers, regardless of their personal circumstances.”
