Equity release ‘can cover the cost of care’

Posted 20/11/2009

Older people should be encouraged to use equity release as a means of covering the cost of long-term care during their retirement years, according to an expert.

Safe Home Retirement Plans (Ship) has called on the UK’s major political parties to do more to promote releasing equity as an answer to the current care funding shortfall.

It pointed to the fact that housing equity owned by British retirees is currently valued at £907 billion, money which can be used by older people to afford the cost of being cared for in their own homes.

Andrea Rozario, Ship’s director general, also cited Department of Health figures which show that half of men and two-thirds of women will need care at some point, suggesting that equity release can help to alleviate the resulting costs.

She said that releasing equity should be considered as “a legitimate retirement funding vehicle.”

Earlier this week, financial solutions firm Just Retirement also called for older people to consider equity release as a means of bolstering their retirement finance.