Old and at home: The legal framework, policy imperatives and individual choices which affect the way people manage their property after retirement

Abstract

The elderly population is increasing in diversity of needs and resources. There is a social policy imperative to encourage use of equity in the home to fund care, legal and financial frameworks to facilitate this, but little take up. This paper reports a small empirical study, carried out by the Oxford Socio-Legal Centre with support from the Nuffield Foundation of the individual decisions made by older home owners in managing their property after retirement.