Homeowners seeking equity release as bills increase twice as much as inflation

Published: 11/05/2012

With household bills rising at double the rate of inflation, older homeowners are showing an increased interest in equity release.

New research by high street bank Santander suggests bills have been rising at approximately double the rate of inflation for the last ten years, therefore bearing a significant impact on savings and retirement.

This means in many cases savings alone may not longer suffice for a comfortable retirement and could lead to an increase in equity release activity.

According to an additional poll by the lender, 29 per cent of Britons have already had to downgrade their standard of living in order to meet their rising outgoings while 1 in 10 admitted they would find it difficult to remain in the black if bills increased again in the next 12 months.

Carlos Palacios is the Banking Director at Santander:

“People have already been forced to make a number of adjustments to their lifestyle to cope with the hikes and many will struggle to cope with further increases such as the water bill hikes recently announced.”

It is predicted products such as equity release will continue to grow in popularity as the gulf between the cost of living and pension provisions widens with many industry professionals expecting equity release to become a mainstream product in the next few years.

Content correct at time of publication