They are being lured by the discounted offers aimed at people who have accumulated equity in their homes, especially those borrowing less than 75%80% of the value of their properties.

A growing list of lenders will also pay the legal costs involved in making the switch.

According to the IBF, almost 19,700 home owners moved their mortgages in the first nine months of this year, with the average switch being for 231,000.

On loans this big, even slight reductions in the rate of interest can translate into big mortgage savings.

Ulster Bank claims to have pioneered the remortgaging trend and signed up its 6,000th switcher last week. "In the past, the costs associated with switching dissuaded consumers from switching their mortgage, even if they could see better deals available elsewhere, " says Sean L'Estrange, head of mortgages at Ulster Bank.

"However this is no longer the case as 6,000 switchers have shown."

SKIS THE LIMIT FOR SOME PENSIONERS

Marketing men may have identified a new type of profligate pensioner, those determined to Spend the Kids' Inheritance. But socalled SKIs are thin on the ground according to market research by Seniors Money, which specialises in equityrelease lending to older people.

If they landed a 60,000 windfall, one-in-five of the over 60s said they would hand over the money to their children, either to pay for a wedding, to get a start on the property ladder or to set them up in business.

Only 13% said they would spend the money on travel, the stereotypical pastime for those with spare cash and time on their hands.

Even fewer pensioners would splash out on a new set of wheels, with many seemingly content to hang on to the cars they drove while still at work.

A surprising statistic is that 14% of pensioners would use a windfall to pay off debt, even though most financial experts warn that it is foolish to retire while still owing money to the bank.

A similar number said they would use the money to modernise their homes.

PAYING ATTENTION TO PENSIONS

Employers should brace themselves for some tough questions from their workers, who will have to be told much more about the health of their pensions from 2008. The new disclosure rules will apply to defined contribution schemes, where employers shift the burden for pension-saving to their employees.

"Employers will need to anticipate the likely reaction from their employees, especially as projected benefits may look low for some schemes, " says Emer Reid, an actuary at Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

Meanwhile, employees should take charge of their own destiny by paying a lot more attention to how their retirement savings are invested according to the Irish Association of Pension Funds, which has just released a study of the subject.

"Members of defined contribution schemes have the power to set their own investment strategy in line with their particular circumstances, " says Joe Byrne, chairman of the IAPF. "However, our study finds that many members do not feel confident to make such decisions or are not interested enough to do so."

Despite much wider choice, the IAPF study found that many employees still pick a generic fund earmarked as a fallback investment for people unsure of how to manage their retirement savings.

This catch-all fund may be a lot more risky than many people suspect, says Helen Keelan of the IAPF's investment committee.

"Members who are in the default option, who are getting closer to retirement, may find themselves with quite a high equity weighting in their fund, " she said. "This may not be appropriate."