More Clarity Between Equity Release and State Benefits Needed
Safe Home Income Plans (SHIP) has called for more clarity about how equity release can affect state benefits and to achieve this, they have implored financial advisors to communicate their thoughts as well as those of their clients through a questionnaire.
Last week (15th April 2010) SHIP launched the questionnaire, aimed at financial advisors, which is designed to encourage opinion and views on the issue of equity release and state benefits.
Despite recent changes to the relationship between equity release and state benefits, there remains a great deal of confusion about the issue. SHIP feels that the information available through the Department for Work and Pensions is “inconsistent and confusing for both advisors and customers.”
“Transparent and Accessible” Equity Release Information
The hope is that by collating the views and opinions of advisors and customers, clearer guidelines can be produced and made available. It is also an opportunity to make the Government aware of these issues. Director General of SHIP, Andrea Rozario, said:
“The Government is in a state of change and older customers must not be sidelined. We have launched this campaign to provide some clarity and guidance to both advisers and their customers. Our aim is to make the process transparent and accessible for everyone.”
An equity release scheme has the potential to unlock a tax-free lump sum from the value of your home to supplement income. However, by doing this, the amount you can claim through state benefits could be affected – depending on the amount you release.
This is a major consideration for taking out such a scheme so clearer information should be more readily available to potential equity release customers.
Related posts:
If I was to release £32,000 equity for a new roof, windows and a rewire and pay off the remaining mortgage and loans how much would I have to pay back after say 10 years at 6.5 %?
[Reply]
admin Reply:
April 21st, 2010 at 10:59 am
[Reply]
David Watson
21 Apr 10 at 9:24 am
is thay a
+
is thay a min sum i could borrow?
what would the position if i paid the amount off borrowed early?
[Reply]
admin Reply:
April 27th, 2010 at 9:19 am
Hi,
The minimum lending does depend on provider to provider however is usually around the £10,000.00 to £15,000.00 mark. There are plans which can be paid off early which usual are 5% of the amount borrowed for the 1st 5 or 10 years then a further 3% in years 6,7,8,9 or 10.
Hope this helps. If you would like to discuss your question in more detail please contact one of our advisors on freephone 08080 10 10 10, or via our website http://www.agepartnership.co.uk by requesting a callback.
Kind regards
The Age Partnership Team
blog@agepartnership.com
admin
[Reply]
bulmer
23 Apr 10 at 7:22 pm
[...] the end of last month Safe Home Income Plans (SHIP) once again urged more clarity between equity release and state benefits by producing a questionnaire designed to garner feedback from advisors as well as [...]
SHIP’s Equity Release and State Benefits Campaign Gathers Pace
25 May 10 at 2:20 pm
Wonderful, neat work! Happy I came across your page first to have digested this!
[Reply]
Almeda Wickell
25 Oct 10 at 6:44 pm