Equity release plans – also called lifetime mortgages, home reversion or home income plans – are a way of releasing cash, whether to buy that new car, to pay for a holiday or home improvements, or simply to make daily life more comfortable. These schemes essentially allow you to borrow money against the value of your home, with the debt being repaid from the sale proceeds after your death.

While there are a range of different schemes offering lump sums and/or regular income, they all work on the same principle by lending you a part of your home’s value in return for a share of the proceeds when you die or the house is sold.

Equity release plans can be complicated products. It is a major step for many people and both Age Concern and the Financial Services Authority recommend that independent financial advice is obtained before proceeding.

An independent financial adviser (IFA) will look at your overall finances to see if equity release is really the best option for you, help find the right type of scheme – bearing in mind that in some cases you could risk losing state benefits and may have to pay extra tax.

The Financial Services Team offers a well qualified and considerable expertise in this now complex area.