Anthony Rafferty, head of marketing at Norwich Union Post Retirement Products, commented: "The last 10 years have seen a 141% growth in the Scottish equity release market with £115 million being released through Norwich Union Equity Release alone. In addition, Scotland has one of the highest average customer ages for equity release at just over 69 years. This could reflect the fact that Scots are better at putting money away and thus don't require equity release funding until later on in their lives. Another potential factor is the government funding that over 65s receive in Scotland should they require care homes.
"Looking forward, we see the UK market doubling over the next five years due to big high street names offering equity release products to their customers, more intermediaries gaining the necessary qualifications and equity release innovations taking into account consumers changing needs. At whatever age people decide to use equity release the figures show that it has become a mainstream financial product and the future for this market is very bright."
