Key
Key kicked off the year with its full year 2022 Market Monitor which revealed that a total of £6.3billion had been released in the past year with around £3.3 billion of this property wealth being used to repay unsecured or secured debt.
Putting this in context, Will Hale, CEO at Key, said: “While hitting a record £5.58 billion worth of new equity released is a sign of a vibrant market with strong underlying demand, there is no denying the impact of the mini-budget on volumes in the latter part of the year and into the start of 2023. With the current economic uncertainty as well as higher interest rates, lower LTVs and fewer products available, advisers are rightly being cautious in their recommendations and helping customers balance short-term needs with longer-term considerations.
“However, we were still able to help people repay more than £3.3 billion worth of both secure and unsecured debt. This type of refinancing allows people to boost their disposable income during the current cost of living crisis while at the same time using the flexible features embedded into modern lifetime mortgages to carefully manage their borrowing through either servicing the interest or making ad hoc capital repayments.
“For some downsizing, putting plans on hold or working longer may be the answer to their financial challenges but for many equity release will continue to be the right option for their circumstances.
Key was also delighted to celebrate Mike Hardy’s (The Equity Release Experts) win at the recent Equity Release Awards.
More2life
Considering the impact of the cost-of-living crisis, more2life research highlighted that almost two in five over-55s saw costs exceed income in 2022 and one in five relied on credit cards when monthly costs exceeded income. While over-65s are due for a bumper increase in April 2023, more than half of older customers said that suspension of the triple lock had a negative impact on their personal finances.
Les Pick, Director of Manufacturing and Adviser Propositions at more2life, added: “Debt among over-55s is becoming more and more common. For a lot of younger people, when costs are up and bills begin to rise, they can look to pick up extra hours at work to make up the difference or even seek a pay rise. These are solutions which are not available for many retirees on a fixed income – no matter how carefully they have planned their retirement.”
Having focused on boosting its service and supporting advisers as they worked to help customers in the current higher interest rate environment, the lender was also delighted to unveil its new look website (https://www.more2life.co.uk/) which included a suite of refreshed and new tools.
A retained equity tool which was branded a “game changer” by one of the advisers who tested it shows the impact of making repayments in terms of the difference this makes to the overall debt, set against house value over a given timescale. The Local Intelligence Tool and Max LTV Calculator have also been refreshed and enhanced.
Air
Following on from its successful series of event in 2022, Air held the Later Life Lending Symposium Life Online on Tuesday, 31 January 2022. Attended by over 600 advisers, paraplanners and influencers from across the later life lending arena, this interactive event focused on the various challenges of Consumer Duty and building as well as a maintaining a business in this current environment. It will shortly be available to watch on demand via the Air website so those who missed it, should watch out for the update emails.
This innovative approach to reaching advisers also saw Air crowned Best Distributor for Adviser Support, Training and Development as well as Best Mortgage Club at the Equity Release Awards held in London on 19 January 2023. Having moved into his role as Chairman of Air Club, Stuart Wilson also picked up the outstanding achievement awards at this prestigious event.
