In the first six months of the year, the average age of those taking out equity from their homes fell from 71 to 70, the first time this has happened in the nine years the company has been collating statistics.
Helped also by the move by many providers to reduce the minimum age of products from 60 to 55, Dean Mirfin, business development director at Key Retirement Solutions, believed the drop in age was a sign of where the market was going.
He explained: “While a one-year fall in the average age of equity release consumers may seem a small change, we strongly believe that this is an indication of how the market will continue to change in the future. While this trend reflects the greater availability of equity release plans from 55 years, it is also indicative of the fact that fewer people are retiring on good pensions and final salary benefits, and we predict more people will need to supplement their pensions at an earlier age, with many using the assets held in their home to do so.”
However, Simon Little, senior product manager at Tomorrow, believed pension worries were not biting yet.
“I’m not sure there is any evidence that pensions are being eroded yet. I would expect that over the next 10 years. However, what you are seeing is people looking at different ways of funding their retirement. They don’t just want to sit in front of the TV and watch daytime television any more. They know they have 20 or 30 years in retirement so they are getting out and doing things, using the equity in their homes.”
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