Equity Release

Equity release is a way for elderly people to access the money tied up in their homes, without having to move out.

There are two types of equity release: lifetime mortgages and home reversions. A lifetime mortgage is a loan secured against your home, which you will never have to repay as long as you live in it. The loan is repaid from the proceeds of the sale of your home when you die or go into long-term care. A home reversion plan enables you to sell all or part of your house to a reversion company in return for a lump sum or regular income. You continue to live in your home, but own less and less of it over time until you eventually own nothing.

Equity release schemes secured on a home are sometimes called “home-assured plans”.