In addition to the new rate, GE Life is launching a cashback facility whereby all customers, irrespective of the size of the loan or who their financial adviser is, will receive a £500 tax-free cashback on completion of their equity release mortgage.
GE Life’s equity release lifetime mortgage, which is available solely through financial advisers, features a no negative equity guarantee, improved LTV for females and joint applicants, younger ages for ‘Joint Lives’, a minimum loan value of £25,000 and no maximum.
These enhancements are in response to feedback GE Life received from financial advisers since it launched its lifetime mortgage last November, together with the signing of a new funding agreement with Stroud & Swindon Mortgage Company Ltd.
Additional features include automatic deduction of the application fee on completion of the loan, annually compounded interest rates, LTV’s for the over-70s and a clear fee structure.
Simon Little, product manager for GE Life, said: “These enhancements to our equity release product reflect our ambitions to become a major player in this market.
“Both lifetime mortgages and reversion schemes are an integral part of the financial planning process and can be a great way of supplementing a client’s income in retirement.”
Simon Chalk, mortgage planner at Mortgage Portfolio Services, which specialises in equity release, said: “This slash in the rate makes GE Life’s product competitive on cost which is one of the most crucial factors equity release clients look for.
“The main drivers for customers is the cost of the rate and the size of the loan. But providers still need to introduce more flexible features into their products to cater for the needs of individual clients.”
