In a note to brokers, Halifax confirmed that the change to the working age criteria would come into force from 18 March.
The lender said that it would “continue to support the majority of customers” with borrowing up to the age of 75.
However, for remortgage applications with any capital raising or additional borrowing and some purchase and remortgage applications, dependent on credit score and profile, a maximum working age of 70 will apply.
The lender said that changes were made as “part of a regular review of our lending criteria and will ensure we can continue to lend responsibly to a broad range of customers”.
The firm said that, for all other applications, a maximum working age of 75 would be used.
Halifax said that if a term past 70 years was selected for an application, then the broker would receive a message at the decision in principle (DIP) stage stating that, as the term goes into retirement, anticipated retirement income should be keyed in or the term could be reduced.
The note continued on to say that: “There are no other changes to our policy and all customers should consider the sustainability of their occupation and the plausibility of working to their anticipated retirement age.
“Customers should be able to maintain their income position at the point of application to the end of the mortgage term and understand the risks if this proves not possible.”
In summer last year, Halifax raised the maximum working age it uses for earned income from 70 to 75.
