Advisers say negative perceptions still hindering equity release

77% of advisers believe negative perceptions are hindering market growth, more than double the number of advisers who selected this option in 2016 (38%).

The second-biggest barrier is poor consumer awareness of equity release, which 44% of advisers believe is hampering the industry. Canada Life's research found that 15% of UK homeowners wouldn’t use the product to fund their retirement because they don’t understand it.

The most popular consumer misconception is held by one in five (21%) UK homeowners, who think that taking out equity release means losing control of their home. Other popular misconceptions include assumptions that equity release prevents you from being able to leave an inheritance, and that releasing equity from your home could mean that you owe more than the value of your property.

Alice Watson, head of marketing at Canada Life, said: “It’s clear that advisers, who speak to consumers every day, believe that scare stories are putting people off equity release. Unfortunately, these stories can misrepresent an industry that has moved on a lot since some of the more infamous reports in previous decades. Today, the industry has established strong consumer safeguards and mandates independent legal advice for every homeowner aged 55 and over who’s considering taking out equity release.

“In order to improve the public’s perception of equity release, we need to improve consumer understanding. Sustained innovation has seen many new products come to the market, which offer flexibility and certainty. This has allowed thousands of customers to choose an equity release product that allows them to make payments to reduce the impact of interest roll-up. Although consumer myths remain common in equity release, we expect them to reduce as the industry works to educate audiences and explain how the products actually work.”