Pension reforms are only planned to be used by 5% of landlords to build portfolios

The National Landlords Association (NLA) has found that the majority of landlords don’t plan to take advantage of pension freedoms to invest in property.

The latest research* by the UK’s largest landlord association revealed that, of those with a pension in place, just five per cent are planning on withdrawing a lump sum to invest or expand their portfolio.

14% of landlords said they would consider using a lump sum to invest in further properties, while 11% said they didn’t have enough of a pension to withdraw a lump sum at all. 7% of landlords said they already had other plans for withdrawing a lump sum and 19% were undecided.

The research, which asked landlords about their plans at retirement, also found that:
• 3% plan to sell up completely
• 19% have no retirement provisions in place
• 25% plan to sell at least some properties
• 61% plan to live off portfolio income at retirement
• 34% are undecided and will assess the market when they reach retirement age.

Carolyn Uphill, Chairman of the NLA, said, “There has been a lot of talk around pensions being used to invest in buy-to-let (BTL) since the announcement on pension freedoms was made last year. While the changes may be attractive to those considering a move into BTL, it’s clearly not that popular an option for landlords.

“Those currently in the market already have an asset to use if they want to expand their portfolio and therefore, depending on circumstance, will have the means to put a lump sum towards other investments or plans; that is if they want to withdraw it at all.

* NLA Quarterly Landlords Panel research – Q2 2015 (977 respondents)