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How Could An Equity Release Calculation Help My Retirement Plans?

An Equity Release Calculation Could Help Your Retirement Plans

Financial planning during retirement is becoming increasingly important. With rising living costs, growing costs of care, and a shrinking public expenditure budget, it is only wise to use your financial assets optimally to provide for you during retirement. It is no surprise then that equity release plans have become so popular among older homeowners in recent times.

Equity release plans offer a way to tap into the equity tied up into a home in the form of a cash lump sum or monthly cash payments and use it towards anything you wish. The money is repaid only when the property is sold, which is usually upon death or when you move into permanent long-term care. There are no restrictions on what the money can be used for, and it allows a way to use the cash from your home without the need to sell and move out. Equity release therefore offers a way to optimise your property value without any restrictions on what the money can be used for.

Reasons for releasing equity

Different people may use the release of equity for different purposes. For instance, someone may need a cash lump sum for a holiday, home repairs, or for a cash gift for grandchildren. Cash flow can often be a problem during retirement, and some people may need a regular income to supplement their retirement income in order to maintain a comfortable lifestyle.

Just as there are various reasons for people to want to access the equity tied into their home, there are different equity release plans available on the market to suit different client’s retirement needs. Obtaining an equity release calculation can help one not only to work out the maximum borrowing through any given equity release plan, but also to understand how the money can be borrowed. For instance, whether it can be borrowed as a single lump sum, as regular monthly payments, or as and when required, through a drawdown lifetime mortgage scheme.

Facilities for monthly income?

Most people use an equity release calculation to work out the maximum amount they could borrow, and to understand how this money can be used optimally to get the best returns. While some people may best benefit by borrowing in the form of monthly installments, unfortunately this is not an available option with any of the current drop of equity release companies. The only previous lifetime mortgage provider that offered a monthly income option was from Northern Rock & we all know about their demise!

Therefore, if a regular income is required borrowers will need to consider other options. This may come in the form of the more flexible lifetime mortgage schemes and may choose to borrow through a drawdown lifetime mortgage scheme. Some may also choose to borrow the maximum amount and use it to purchase an annuity or other investment product, although using equity release to purchase a market linked investment product could be potentially risky due to the uncertain returns available in the markets. In fact, other than to create an emergency fund, equity release schemes should never be used for investment purposes and is something a qualified equity release adviser should never recommend.

A qualified equity release adviser can help you understand how an equity release calculation can be performed and the money released best used. The first step to understand how releasing equity could potentially help you during your retirement would be to use an equity release calculator to work out how much money you could release through different equity release plans, and how it could be used optimally to plan for your retirement. Once the parameters have been established & monetary figures confirmed the application process can begin in order to convert your wishes into reality & retirement plans fulfilled.

 

Do Your Maths and Equity Release Schemes Will Add Up!

keep calm and do your mathsEquity release schemes have become more and more popular in the past few years. But it is also a fact that equity release schemes still ring alarm bells in the minds of many. The main concern that people have with equity release is that it can erode your estate and leave little equity for your beneficiaries.

Another alarming scenario is where the loan could become bigger than the sale value of the property resulting in ‘negative equity’, where you could potentially owe money to the equity release provider. While these were legitimate worries until some years ago, equity release schemes today involve far fewer risks.

Equity release and regulation

All equity release schemes come with a no negative equity guarantee as schemes these days are incorporated into the Equity Release Council rules & regulations check list. This protects consumers from ever owing more than the value of their house, even if the loan did surpass the current valuation. Basically, the lender will waive any excess, with the worse case scenario being no equity for the children.

Equity release today can be used as a flexible tool to optimise your financial assets to support you during retirement. The fact is that equity release offers a way for older homeowners to access the value that has built into their home, without having to sell their property and move out. Rising costs of living, rising costs of care and ever shrinking pension funds are making it difficult for many pensioners to support their lifestyle during old age.

What can equity release be spent on?

Retirement is seen as the golden period of life, when one should be free to enjoy the fruits of their lifelong labour. Whether it is for a one-off expense such as a holiday, or a home extension, a cash gift to children or grandchildren, or a regular income supplement, many people are turning to equity release as a way to access the cash in their home without having to sell and downsize.

So, are there risks involved with equity release schemes? As with any financial product, it is important to understand the full implications of releasing equity from your home. By releasing cash from the value of the property, you essentially devalue it to a certain extent, and this is bound to have implications for your beneficiaries. However, unlike equity release schemes of the yore, no matter how large your debt, your beneficiaries will never owe anything personally to the equity release lender.

There are various equity release plans designed to suit people in varying circumstances and with different needs. It is important to understand your own needs and priorities and use your financial acumen to find out which type of equity release product suits you best. An equity release calculator can help you work out the numbers with respect to different equity release plans, and consulting an equity release expert can help you understand how different plans can work for you.

The maths can add up to the solution you are looking for, but as ever it is the details you input in the first place the determine the end result. Caveat emptor as they say!