• Members’ input continues to strengthen consumer protections

• Building relationships with public and policymakers high on 2014 agenda

Membership of the Equity Release Council (The Council) has surpassed 300 in just eighteen months after the trade body re-launched with a wider remit to represent the industry in its entirety.

Since it succeeded SHIP in May 2012, The Council has expanded its original membership to include providers, advisers, surveyors, solicitors and intermediaries. Its work with an increasingly diverse membership focuses on upholding standards of consumer protection, as well as boosting public, regulatory and political awareness of equity release at a time when its popularity is blossoming.

The total annual value of equity release plans has grown by 36% since 2011 with over-55s releasing more than £1bn of housing wealth in 2013 for the first time in five years – returning the industry to pre-financial crash levels and suggesting the market has come through the recession in much better shape than many other sectors of financial services.

Growing membership shapes consumer protections

Members’ input to The Council’s industry working groups continues to support three levels of protection for consumers, encompassing a structured financial advice process, legal advice and product safeguards such as the no negative equity guarantee.

An updated checklist for advisers was formalised in summer 2013, ensuring every customer receives a suitability report to show why a particular product suits their needs. The Council’s provider members now make a copy of the Code of Conduct available during consultations, and a further change means that independent legal advice is always given face-to-face, rather than by phone, to ensure borrowers fully understand their loan agreement.

Building relationships in public and policy a top priority

The Council has also stepped up its campaigning work to overcome the ‘policy and knowledge vacuum’ facing the modern equity release industry. In recent months this has included public awareness campaigns about financial issues impacting over-55s – including the cost of long term care – as well as parliamentary briefings at the House of Commons examining retirement savings and older people’s access to financial advice.

Speakers at these events have included Steve Webb MP, Minister of State for Pensions at the Department of Work and Pensions, along with representatives of the Insurance and Financial Services All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), the Pensions Policy Institute, the Ageing and Older People APPG, and the Society of Later Life Advisers (SOLLA).

The Council continues to represent members’ views in regular meetings with regulators and government departments, and recently appointed Donna Bathgate to the new role of Chief Operating Officer to oversee service levels to its growing membership.

Nigel Waterson, Chairman of The Equity Release Council, comments:

“The last twelve months have been extremely busy for the equity release sector, as the end-of-year figures show we are back to the levels of business seen before the financial crisis.

“Our members’ work is vital to ensure that best practice exists across the industry so that people interested in equity release get the best possible advice and service. Thanks to these efforts, modern equity release products are safe, secure and offer increasing flexibility for anyone seeking to improve their finances in later life.

“There is no doubt that housing wealth is increasingly valuable to our ageing population in retirement. More and more people are taking the logical step of using a modest part of the sum tied up in their homes to help fund their later years.

“Improving awareness and understanding of equity release in public and policy circles remains a top priority for The Council in 2014. With a strengthened internal team and more members on board, we can look forward to what already looks set to be another landmark year for the market.”