Flexible Lifetime
More than pets or talking about the weather, Brits love their homes. £2.6 trillion is tied up in UK property, and £1.8 trillion of that belongs to homeowners aged 55 or older.
The value of our homes has increased more than 43 times that of inflation since the 1970s. Imagine if everyday grocery expenses had matched that pace of growth; a loaf of bread would leave little change from a fiver! [1] Brits retiring now own homes worth an average £223,257, and many will have originally paid a fraction of this, leaving a healthy amount of equity. With savings and investments scraping along on low interest rates, and an acknowledged pension shortfall – how can your home play a role in your retirement planning?
Legal and General questioned 344 Financial Advisers to see what they, and their clients, thought about lifetime mortgages and their role in plugging the retirement income gap. 90% say their clients want more income to sustain a comfortable retirement. [2] On average the majority of people need up to £10,000 more per year – for a man retiring at 65 that could amount to an extra £157,000 over his lifetime, for a woman it could be £178,000.[3]
Why scrimp and scrape if you don't have to?
Lifetime mortgages are used to improve your quality of life to varying degrees. For some it would reduce financial stress and struggle, for others the released money allows a few treats and flexibility that isn’t available in your day-to-day budgets.
Why you should consider talking to Flexible Lifestyle ?
1.
We are an independent financial adviser with whole of market access;
3.
Our products are from household name providers;
5.
Inheritance protection and negative equity protection offer further security for homeowners and their beneficiaries;
7.
With a lifetime mortgage you could release some of the equity that’s tied up in your home – tax free;
2.
We will only provide Equity Release Council mortgages;
4.
Our products are regulated products and we are regulated by the FCA;
6.
The advantage compared with a residential mortgage or traditional loan is that there are no monthly payments.
8.
You retain ownership of your property, the loan is repaid when the last property owner dies or moves out of the home into long-term care;
Contact Flexible Lifestyle today to discuss later life lending and what it can do for your lifestyle.
Important information
• A lifetime mortgage creates a debt against the borrower’s home
• Other options to borrow money should be considered, which may be more cost effective
• If you give the money away, the recipient may have to pay inheritance tax in the future
Source data:
[1] Shelter: Food for thought: applying house price inflation to grocery prices’ February 2013. Sliced white loaf would cost £4.36.
[2] Legal and General, November 2017. In July L&G spoke to 344 Advisers about equity release (lifetime mortgages). How are these Advisers using lifetime mortgages to help their clients?
[3] Public Health England, Recent Trends in Life Expectancy at Older Ages: Update to 2014, February 2016. Calculation based on 18.5 additional years of life expectancy for a man aged 65 in 2015. For a woman aged 65 it is an additional 20.9 years.