Millions of Britons expect to still be paying off a mortgage or making monthly rent payments once they retire or are already doing so, research claims. Roughly one in three adults currently believe they will fall or have fallen into this category, Royal London said. Of those, two in five said they didn't know how they would be able to continue paying off their mortgage or pay their rent once they stopped working. In total, approximately six million people said they had no idea how they would fund housing costs in later life. Royal London said that out of the population with a mortgage, nearly two in five borrowers will not be mortgage-free once they retire. Meanwhile three in five tenants surveyed said they expected to still be paying rent when they retire. Concerning: More people in Britain face still paying for housing costs in retirement About 45 per cent of tenants said they expected to still be paying rent ten years into their retirement. Only 7 per cent of mortgage-holders said they expected to still be paying off their home loan in the same timeframe. Facing high prices and rising mortgage rates, buyers are getting on the property ladder later in life and many are taking out long mortgage deals. Some cannot afford to get on the housing ladder at all and continue renting. 'The findings come as rising housing costs and longer mortgage terms mean more people are likely to enter retirement still paying for a roof over their head,' Royal London said. Royal London said that people who expected to still be paying for their home in retirement typically had an average pension pot of £34,948, against those with £120,682 among those who are confident they will have no mortgage or rental costs in later life. Nearly three in five people surveyed who said they were in a 'financial crisis' said they thought they would continue paying for their accommodation in retirement. Only 11 per cent of people who described themselves as 'financially comfortable' said they believed they were on track to pay a mortgage or rent in retirement. Whether or not people expect to still be paying for a home in later life also depends on where people live. At 34 per cent, people in London, the South East and South were the most likely to say they believed they would continue paying a mortgage or rent in retirement. At the other end of the spectrum, 23 per cent of people in Yorkshire and the Humber said they expected to still be paying a mortgage or rent in later life. Meanwhile, 53 per cent of people in the North East who expect to pay housing costs in retirement said they did not know how they would pay for them, according to Royal London. The average across Britain for people with the same concern was 39 per cent. Sarah Pennells, of Royal London, said: 'For generations, reaching retirement often meant reaching the point where housing costs were behind you. 'But for millions of today's retirees and future retirees, that simply isn't the reality.'She added: 'What's particularly worrying is that over six million people who expect to pay rent or mortgage costs in retirement don't know how they'll cover those payments.'If you're heading towards retirement and expect to have housing costs, it's important to factor these into your retirement planning as early as possible.'Housing costs can make a huge difference to how far retirement income will stretch. 'Understanding what your housing costs could look like in later life can help you develop a more realistic picture of the income you'll need in retirement.'Why are more people paying for housing in retirement? Paying for housing in later life is becoming more common because the route into home ownership has become 'harder and later', Nicholas Mendes, mortgage technical manager at John Charcol, said. He said: 'Higher house prices, higher rents, larger deposits, and tighter affordability mean many people are buying later, taking longer mortgage terms, or reaching retirement without owning at all. 'There is a difference between a mortgage running into retirement as part of a planned strategy and someone being pushed into it because the monthly payments only work over 35 or 40 years. 'The first can be perfectly manageable. The second can store up problems for later.' For some borrowers, taking a mortgage into retirement will not cause too much trouble, especially where there is strong pension income, other assets, or a clear repayment plan. But the risk is that retirement income is usually lower and less flexible than working income. A payment that felt affordable while someone was earning can become much more uncomfortable once they are relying on pensions. Renting in retirement can be even more difficult because there is no end point in the same way there is for a mortgage. Mendes said: 'The concern is not simply that people are still paying for housing in later life. 'It is that more people may be entering retirement with less room for shocks, whether that is rent increases, mortgage rate changes, illness, care costs, or a drop in income.'Are you worried about affording your home as you approach retirement? editor@thisismoney.co.uk Best mortgage rates and how to find them Mortgage rates have shot up again due to inflation triggered by the conflict with Iran reversing hopes that the Bank of England would cut rates. 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