The number of births has never been so low in our country since the Second World War according to the latest report from INSEE (2), and the accelerated aging of the French population is an inevitable prospect. The current banking system, overly standardized, offers a limited number of products to the French and has not adapted to the evolution of society. It automatically excludes millions of senior owners, as well as a growing part of the population who do not fit into their boxes. A major hole in the racket at a time when old age is becoming more and more expensive.
An obsolete system inherited from the Thirty Glorious Years
The current bank credit market is the legacy of the “Trente Glorieuses”, a period during which the middle classes accessed the property and consumption thanks to the loan leverage. This model was based on the anticipation of future income in a France with stable employment, where life expectancy barely exceeded retirement age. In 1960, people lived on average to 70 years old for a departure at 65 years old. The French banking response was then extremely effective: low rates and financing often covering 100% of the value of the property.
Except that in the meantime, the world has changed: the job market has undergone significant changes with salaried employment which is no longer so clearly the norm and broken careers, effectively reducing the revenue predictability. At the same time, the value of real estate relative to income has doubled. Those over 65 now represent 22.2% of the population and everyone can hope to pass a quarter of his retired life (departure at 62-64 years with a life expectancy of over 80 years). But in 20 years of life, we have desires, needs and projects! However, the credit market still relies almost exclusively and inexorably on the anticipation of future income.
The “rich-poor” paradox
At the same time, the cost of old age has increased significantly. THE home support saw its cost increase by 23% since 2020to reach an average of 1,291 euros per month, a level close to the minimum wage (and more than 2,200 euros over the age of 85) (3). These recurring charges occur precisely at a time when incomes are contracting, with pensions representing on average 60% of final salary (4).
In addition, staying at home, desired by the vast majority of seniors, requires heavy work – insulation, secure bathroom, stair lift, redevelopment of the ground floor – essential but insufficiently financed by the banking system.
The good news? More than 72% of those over 65 are owners. But this very real real estate asset is a “dormant” asset: although it provides housing, its value remains stuck in stone and does not allow it to meet daily needs or finance its projects. The result is a major French paradox: millions of retirees find themselves “rich” in assets, but “poor” in liquidity. Faced with this situation, the current banking system remains silent and provides no appropriate response.
Financing the aging time bomb
However, solutions exist. Real estate operations — sales with usufruct reserve, dismemberments or temporary transfers of rights — make it possible to free up cash while retaining the use of the property. However, although they are present in most countries, these solutions are struggling to become widespread: they remain complex, expensive and too specific.
On the other hand, credit solutionsbetter adapted to the needs of seniors, are already establishing themselves among our European neighbors. This is the case for mortgage loans without amortization, such as the “lifetime mortgage» in the United Kingdom, the volume of which oscillated between 2 and 6 billion euros annually the last three years.
Faced with the time bomb represented by financing for seniors and the addiction support In the years to come, the challenge is to develop these alternatives and make them better known in France. The future of our (future) seniors and our society depends on it.
(1)Only 3.9% of those over 65 have access to long-term credit (Crédit logement, 2022)
(2) Demographic report 2025, INSEE
(3) 6th edition of the Silver Alliance and Retraite.com barometer (2025)
(4) OECD, DREES, Banque de France
By Alexis Rouëssé (CEO and co-founder of Arrago)
