The quality of life one has in retirement is, for many people, closely linked to the level of pension income they receive and it is widely acknowledged that large numbers of retired people have an inadequate income to provide the lifestyle they aspire to, in their later years.
Indeed, more importantly, many struggle simply to meet the costs of daily living, as a result of, for example, continuing to suffer from rising inflation and the decline in the level of benefits provided by occupational pension schemes.
However, despite this rather gloomy outlook, there is hope for a significant proportion of retiree's, as even accounting for the recent downturn in the housing market, they will have accumulated substantial equity in their residential property over the long-term, as house prices have soared.
Many of these people will certainly be 'asset rich', but equally, many may be 'cash poor', if they do not have other so-called 'liquid' assets available to them, because unfortunately, of course, one cannot simply 'spend' one's equity.
Equity Release schemes can help to provide people with the funds they require, in order to generate a cash lump sum, or an income and importantly, offer them an alternative to being forced into moving out of the home they may have lived in for many years.
Essentially, such schemes allow you to borrow money against the value of your home, with the debt being repaid from the sale proceeds, only after your death.
As a result, they can be a very effective financial planning tool, helping not only to provide access to funds for the homeowner's benefit, but also, for some clients, to help pass wealth to children or grandchildren during their lifetime, or even to help mitigate an Inheritance Tax liability.
At our initial consultation, we discuss your financial position, your short and long-term needs and the benefits and drawbacks of effecting an Equity Release scheme.
We then conduct our research, which may include liaising with a solicitor practice with whom we work closely, or indeed, your own solicitor, considering only Equity Release specialists who are members of the Safe Home Income Plans (SHIP) group, who offer binding guarantees that, for instance, you will have the right to live in your property for life and the freedom to move to an alternative property, without penalty, should you need or want to.
By committing to only working with the highest quality firms, we help to ensure we are in a position to make not only the most suitable, but also the safest recommendations.
We subsequently put forward our recommendations to you, and preferably your family as well, and only if you are completely satisfied, will we proceed to implement them for you.
Our usual fee for advice on Equity Release is £500.
'Equity Release' includes Home Reversion Plans and Lifetime Mortgages. To understand the features and risks, please ask for a personalised illustration.
Please note that Equity Release schemes involve borrowing against or selling part of your home and as such, there may be more suitable methods of raising the funds you need.
Furthermore, you should be aware that such schemes can affect eligibility for state benefits and grants.