Study reveals the main reasons why consumers are not engaging with the later life lending market
Almost six in 10, or 59%, of advisers believe that rising interest rates is one of the main reasons why consumers are not engaging with the later life lending market, while 44% think that a lack of consumer education on products is the main barrier.
Results of a study from later life lending platform Air has revealed that these are the biggest customer engagement barriers preventing people from later life market engagement, with a further 27% mentioning the people’s impression of being expected to pay off the mortgage before retiring and 19% feeling that a lack of access to information is another hindrance.
With advisers facing an increasingly challenging market, 36% said that the support and advice from lenders helped them to do their jobs more effectively over the last 12 months, while just 12% said that lender support had not helped them.
Air, however, noted that many of those responding to the study wanted further guidance and training in a variety of areas. One in five, or 20%, were keen to develop more knowledge of the broader market, while 14% wanted to build their soft skills, and others considered developing better complaint processes (8%) or gaining insight into individual lending criteria (7%).
“With advisers working hard to support customers in a higher interest rate environment, there is plenty of scope for providers in this market to step up,” Stuart Wilson (pictured), chairman of Air Club, commented. “Significant work is going into customer education and to highlight how modern flexible products can be used to manage a customer’s borrowing, but we need to carefully consider what else can be done.
“Indeed, while it is good news that over a third of advisers say providers help them do their jobs more effectively – and we know the current economic conditions are not easy for lenders – this figure needs to grow.
“2023 is likely to be a challenging year for the market but by working together, we can help customers achieve the type of outcomes that the upcoming Consumer Duty legislation demands.”
Do you agree with the reasons cited by the study as to why consumers are not engaging with the later life lending market? Share your thoughts with us by leaving a comment in the discussion box at the bottom of the page.
