Not sure about duffelfields, but he may only have a small mortgage and maybe he can prove he will have it paid at off at the time of retiring, lump sum super to cover it or other means, this is not a bank thing it is a rule the government bought in. I think retirement age at the moment is 65yrs, 67 BY 2017, 70 BY 2035, I am no expert just been reading it and asking bank etc, we have had our mortgage since before this new rule was bought in a few years ago. You can talk to a bank online ask questions, so maybe if you can prove you can pay it off earlier they may suggest a 16 year loan and you pay more per month but I doubt a 50 year old will these days get a 30 year loan.