The equity release market is booming. Living longer but struggling to save for retirement or running short of money after taking too much out of pensions too early mean more people than ever want to cash in on the value of their house in later life. Equity-release plan providers lent £3.94bn last year, says the Equity Release Council, up 29% on 2017. The size of the market has doubled within a four-year period.
Equity release plans are deceptively simple. Over-55s can borrow against the value of their property typically up to 50% to generate a pot of cash. You can use this money as you like and there are no repayments due. The loan, plus interest, is repaid after your death from the proceeds of the sale of your house, or earlier if you need to sell to move into long-term care.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
-
Thousands of estates are sitting unclaimed in the UK – is your family name on the list?More than 5,700 unclaimed estates are on a government list waiting to be found by living relatives. We take a look at the list, and explain how to make a claim
-
420,000 more pensioners to be dragged into paying income tax – how does tax on the state pension work?Hundreds of thousands more pensioners will need to pay tax on their pension income at the end of this tax year, new HMRC data shows. We look at how taxation on the state pension works.
