Equity release 'no longer a last resort'

Consumers' perceptions of equity release schemes have changed, according to one expert, who suggested that people no longer see it as a "last resort".

Glenn Osgood, partnership manager for Itune Group, a subsidiary of Help the Aged, said that many people are now choosing this kind of option to free up money in later life.

"We're finding that a lot of people are actually using equity release to fund a similar or better lifestyle through their retirement," Mr Osgood remarked.

In many cases, people choose equity release schemes because they have a great deal of assets but are relatively "cash-poor", he added.

Defaqto recently predicted that the UK's equity release market would pay an increasingly important role in retirement planning, but argued that consumer choice was still limited by the small number of "household names" offering products.

David Black, head of banking at the firm, said that equity release is a "genuine way" a number of people to finance their retirement.

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