19 September 2008
Research from Retirement Plus shows equity release is funding long term care
Recent research by equity release product provider Retirement Plus highlights the growing concerns people have about funding their care in retirement.
The research, which was carried out with 1,000 consumers in the West Midlands and Wales, showed that 33.3% of consumers would use the revenue generated from equity release to fund nursing home care. Interestingly, 20.9% of participants in the survey said that they would use the money to help out their family members and 16.3% would use the money to ease or clear existing debts.
Duncan Young, CEO of Retirement Plus, says: “The results of our research highlight the worries and issues people today have about their care in retirement. People do not want to be a burden to their families so they’re looking to their own resources to ensure they get an acceptable level of care.”
Mr. Young continues: “As the younger generation struggle to get onto the property ladder, pay off student loans and adapt to higher living costs, it came as no surprise for us to see that a fifth of the people questioned would use money from equity release to help their offspring get the best start in life.”
Janet Davies, founder member & Managing Director of Symponia, said “looking at the age of the people surveyed it is not surprising that so many people mentioned the need to fund care in a nursing home, this generation knows full well that Government support will continue to be limited, some will have to face the situation with their own parents, whilst others are being realistic.
The need for care is not a pleasant prospect nor is it dinner party conversation, but with over 100,000 people entering care each year the subject cannot be ignored.
Saving for a rainy-day or old-age is not a new concept, and buying a property has been seen as a great investment in the longer term for years, and despite the current downturn this ethos will continue; it makes perfect sense for owner occupiers to “earmark” their property for their own welfare, safeguarding their own potentially frailer future, without compromising their present standard of living.”
ENDS
All media enquiries:
Please email melanieb@mainlandpr.com for a copy of the research in full.
Retirement Plus Symponia
Duncan Young Janet Davies
020 7907 8591 01789 491325
Mainland PR Parkside Financial PR
James White / Melanie Bradley Beverley Harvey
020 3008 7400 01732 874407
Editor’s notes
About Retirement Plus
Retirement Plus is a Milton Homes company which specialises in providing equity release products. The Retirement Plus range of home reversion plans allow UK residents aged 65 or older to receive full market value for a share of their property at the start of the plan, in return for which they grant Retirement Plus an option to acquire an increasing beneficial share in the property over the life of the Plan. Significantly, these products enable the owner to release their share of the property over time, rather than giving up the full amount at inception. The homeowner can also elect to retain a “protected share” of the property.
Retirement Plus is authorised and regulated by the FSA and is a member of SHIP, the body which is dedicated entirely to the protection of planholders and to the promotion of safe home income and equity release plans. Retirement Plus only accepts business from customers who have received advice from brokers registered with the Financial Services Authority.
Website: www.retirement-plus.co.uk
About Symponia
Symponia (which is the Greek word for compassion) was created by Jeremy and Janet Davies who have 20 years’ combined experience in long term care. Founded in January 2005 Symponia is committed to raising standards and increasing training and compliance levels within the long term care advice industry.
• All members are qualified IFAs who are selected by invitation only, after a rigorous selection process designed to make sure that members have the right people skills as well as technical competence. All members are subject to a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check. Symponia is the only advice group to carry out this procedure.
• Each member must pass a bespoke written examination every year. The exam is in addition to FSA requirements and tests market knowledge as well as technical competence. In addition to basic qualifications, advisers must have attained the industry benchmark examination known as CF8. Symponia is the only advice group to insist on this qualification.
• Members are subject to a Code of Practice and Conduct, and to a Customer Charter, which lays down strict service standards that the IFA must meet.
• Member IFAs pay an annual fee only (payable monthly). There is no commission split of business related fee.
• Symponia acts as an intermediary between care home providers and care fee specialist IFAs, providing the latter with introductions to providers in their area.
Symponia is the only care fees planning advice group that has genuine national representation across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is the only group to guarantee face to face consultation for clients in every part of the country.
Website: www.symponia.co.uk