New equity release provider enters market

Responsible Lending, which is the sister company of Responsible Life, will offer a range of lifetime mortgage products which will be sold through equity release qualified financial advisers and mortgage brokers.

Responsible Lending is targeting traditional equity release customers as well as mortgage prisoners aged over 55 and defined contribution pensioners who are  looking to supplement their state and personal pension incomes.

Keith Haggart has been appointed as managing director of Responsible Lending. Keith is a former MD of Lifetime Mortgages at Prudential and Director of Lifetime Mortgages at Just Retirement. He was also a former director of Safe Home Income Plans, now the Equity Release Council.

Keith Haggart commented: “Responsible Lending was founded because we identified a space in the equity market for an innovative lender that focuses on the issues faced by those aged 55 and over. We believe we’ve built an exceptional lending platform and our highly experienced management team has designed products that take into account extensive market research on what our customers actually want to create a later life lending solution.

“Recent regulation swings have made it financially tougher than ever for those in later life. Legislating for more pension freedoms was the right thing to do but it has left many wary of running out of money in retirement. This fear has affected lifestyles alongside savings and spending habits. If pension freedoms weren’t difficult enough to manage in retirement, there is the added complication of many requiring a mortgage into later life.

“The mortgage market has some fundamental flaws when viewing customers in retirement, which we are seeking to address with our products. We have looked at the wider regulation and economic landscape and designed a range of products that hand the power over the wealth in their property back to our customers.”