Who We Are
The Equity Release Council is the UK’s trade body for equity release and later life lending.
We set trusted standards and protections that our members commit to uphold.
We bring together lenders, advisers, legal experts, funders, and service providers who share a single goal: helping consumers use their property wealth safely, confidently, and responsibly.
For 35 years, our Standards have underpinned one of the UK’s most respected and well-regulated financial markets. They have helped build a sector based on fairness, transparency, and strong consumer protection, giving confidence to consumers and credibility to professionals.
Our Vision, Mission and Purpose
Our Vision: Every homeowner can use their property wealth safely, confidently, and responsibly in later life.
Our Purpose: Our purpose is simple: to promote a responsible later life lending market by uniting members behind shared standards, trusted advice, and transparent practices that protect consumers and build confidence.
Our Mission: Building trust and enabling sustainable growth by advocating with one clear voice for a responsible, inclusive, and outcomes-focused sector.
We achieve our purpose by:
- Setting and upholding Standards that go beyond regulation to ensure quality, integrity, and consumer protection, while maintaining the Equity Release Standards as the benchmark of consumer protection within later life finance.
- Championing professional excellence and continuous learning to raise competence, confidence, and care across the sector.
- Fostering collaboration and shared purpose among lenders, advisers, funders, and partners to strengthen and unify the market.
- Providing authoritative insight and evidence to shape policy, inform debate, and build trust in later life lending.
- Empowering consumers through transparency, clarity, and access to trusted advice.
Our Values
Our values define who we are, guide how we work, and shape the trust placed in us by consumers, members, and partners.
They underpin every Standard we set, every decision we make, and every partnership we form.
They ensure that our purpose to protect consumers and promote confidence in later life lending is delivered with principle and humanity.
Accountability: We are responsible for our actions and transparent in how we operate. We uphold the same high standards we expect of others, reporting openly on our performance and impact. Accountability builds confidence, from regulators, from members, and from the public.
Care: We remember that behind every policy, product, or principle is a person making a life decision. Care grounds our work in reality and ensures that every outcome reflects empathy, respect, and dignity. It reminds us that our role is not only to protect consumers but to help them live with confidence and choice in later life.
Collaboration: We achieve more together than alone. By bringing lenders, advisers, funders, legal experts, and policymakers around one table, we foster understanding, share expertise, and create solutions that serve both the market and the consumer. Collaboration turns competing interests into shared progress.
Excellence: We set high standards and help others reach them. From professional development to thought leadership, we champion learning, reflection, and improvement. Excellence is not a destination but a discipline and a commitment to quality, growth, and continual improvement.
Integrity: We act with honesty, fairness, and independence. Our decisions are guided by evidence and principle, not convenience or short-term gain. Integrity underpins our authority: consumers trust our standards, and members trust our leadership, because both know we do what is right, not what is easy.
Board of Directors
The Board is responsible for the strategic direction and management of the Council, operating in line with our Articles of Association.
In 2023, the Council adopted an updated governance structure aligned with best practice for non-profit organisations. This includes three wholly independent directors, including the Chair, alongside executive representation.
This structure strengthens independence, oversight and transparency, ensuring that the Council’s work continues to serve both members and consumers.
Board members
Caroline Barr
Independent Non-Executive Director
Equity Release Council
She is currently the Chair of the British Insurance Brokers’ Association and was previously a non-executive director of BlackRock Life Ltd.
Michelle Highman
Standards committee chair and chief executive The Money Charity
Michelle Highman was appointed as the independent chair to the standards committee in April 2023 and an independent non-executive director in December 2023.
She is the chief executive of The Money Charity, the UK’s financial capability charity. The Money Charity’s vision is for everyone to be on top of their money as part of everyday life. And so, it empowers people across the UK to build the skills, knowledge, attitudes and behaviour, to make the most of their money throughout their lives. It provides education, information and advice on money matters to young people and adults across the UK
Previously she was a trustee of GambleAware for 6 years, a member of Pay.uk’s end user advisory council, the Financial Inclusion Commission’s advisory panel, the London Institute of Banking & Finance’s validation panel for their post graduate certificate in financial capability and of the Institute of Inertia.
Michelle was instrumental in setting up the consumer financial education body, the Money Advice Service where she was manager of the chief executive and chair’s office. Prior to that Michelle worked for 13 years at the Financial Services Authority and the Personal Investment Authority, undertaking roles in pensions, regulation, communications and financial capability.
Jim Boyd
Chief Executive Officer of the Equity Release Council
Jim was appointed CEO of the Equity Release Council in June 2018. He joined from Reform think tank (now Re:State), where he was Deputy Director and Head of Research.
Prior to this he was an Expert Adviser to Welfare Reform Ministers (in the House of Lords and Commons) at the Department for Work and Pensions.
Jim has extensive experience of retirement and social care funding having led the Corporate Affairs functions at insurers Britannic Retirement Solutions, Just Retirement and Partnership Assurance.
Jim led campaigns which resulted in changes to secondary legislation to provide better options for annuitants at retirement, primary legislation to regulate reversionary equity release; and amended the Care Bill to place a duty on local authorities to sign-post citizens in the care system to appropriate financial advice.
He is an insights expert at the Intergenerational Longevity Commission-UK; an Age Irrelevance Ambassador, a campaign set up by the Baroness Greengross’ Foundation and was a member of the Public Policy Projects’ Social Care Policy Network. Jim is a former tax and trusts lawyer.
David Burrowes
Chair of the Equity Release Council
David has been a practising solicitor for 25 years. During this time, he was first a Councillor in Enfield and then Member of Parliament for Enfield Southgate between 2005 and 2017. David championed social justice and consumer protection and led campaigns on issues affecting elderly people. David served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to three Cabinet Ministers and sat on the influential Home Affairs and Public Accounts Select Committees and was also Shadow Justice Minister from 2007-2010. David lives in Southgate with his wife Janet and their six children.
Caroline Barr
Independent Non-Executive Director
Equity Release Council
She is currently the Chair of the British Insurance Brokers’ Association and was previously a non-executive director of BlackRock Life Ltd.
Michelle Highman
Standards committee chair and chief executive The Money Charity
Michelle Highman was appointed as the independent chair to the standards committee in April 2023 and an independent non-executive director in December 2023.
She is the chief executive of The Money Charity, the UK’s financial capability charity. The Money Charity’s vision is for everyone to be on top of their money as part of everyday life. And so, it empowers people across the UK to build the skills, knowledge, attitudes and behaviour, to make the most of their money throughout their lives. It provides education, information and advice on money matters to young people and adults across the UK
Previously she was a trustee of GambleAware for 6 years, a member of Pay.uk’s end user advisory council, the Financial Inclusion Commission’s advisory panel, the London Institute of Banking & Finance’s validation panel for their post graduate certificate in financial capability and of the Institute of Inertia.
Michelle was instrumental in setting up the consumer financial education body, the Money Advice Service where she was manager of the chief executive and chair’s office. Prior to that Michelle worked for 13 years at the Financial Services Authority and the Personal Investment Authority, undertaking roles in pensions, regulation, communications and financial capability.
Jim Boyd
Chief Executive Officer of the Equity Release Council
Jim was appointed CEO of the Equity Release Council in June 2018. He joined from Reform think tank (now Re:State), where he was Deputy Director and Head of Research.
Prior to this he was an Expert Adviser to Welfare Reform Ministers (in the House of Lords and Commons) at the Department for Work and Pensions.
Jim has extensive experience of retirement and social care funding having led the Corporate Affairs functions at insurers Britannic Retirement Solutions, Just Retirement and Partnership Assurance.
Jim led campaigns which resulted in changes to secondary legislation to provide better options for annuitants at retirement, primary legislation to regulate reversionary equity release; and amended the Care Bill to place a duty on local authorities to sign-post citizens in the care system to appropriate financial advice.
He is an insights expert at the Intergenerational Longevity Commission-UK; an Age Irrelevance Ambassador, a campaign set up by the Baroness Greengross’ Foundation and was a member of the Public Policy Projects’ Social Care Policy Network. Jim is a former tax and trusts lawyer.
David Burrowes
Chair of the Equity Release Council
David has been a practising solicitor for 25 years. During this time, he was first a Councillor in Enfield and then Member of Parliament for Enfield Southgate between 2005 and 2017. David championed social justice and consumer protection and led campaigns on issues affecting elderly people. David served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to three Cabinet Ministers and sat on the influential Home Affairs and Public Accounts Select Committees and was also Shadow Justice Minister from 2007-2010. David lives in Southgate with his wife Janet and their six children.
Our team
MEMBER NAME
Thomas Brett
Head of Commercial and Business Development
With over 13 years of experience in the later equity release market, Thomas has worked in a variety of roles including as a front-line adviser, business development and project management for brokerages and technology providers. With a particular focus on customer acquisition and partnerships, Thomas puts the customer at the heart of everything, and continues to work on improving the later life lending industry for everyone.
Kate O’Dowd
Risk, Policy, and Compliance Associate
Kate joined the Equity Release Council in February 2024 as Risk, Policy, and Compliance assistant. Kate has over eight years experience in the equity release sector starting as a customer service agent at The Right Equity Release. Before joining the Council, Kate held the position of Business Support Manager at The Equity Release Experts who were part of Key Group. This role involved building relationships with stakeholders and providers, assisting advisers with queries, and providing management with sales reports and conversions. Kate also has experience working in the retail sector.
Jennifer Logue
Executive and Governance Assistant
Jennifer joined the Equity Release Council in 2022 as an executive PA and admin support. She has over 15 years’ experience in administrative roles in local government and healthcare, in both public and private sector settings. Jennifer has a degree from the University of Surrey and now lives in Essex with her family.
Laura Gibson
Head of Membership and Engagement
Laura has spent 15 years working within the non-profit and membership sector. She has a strong background in project management, product and service development, communications and business operations.
With a passion for people and all things membership, Laura is an enthusiastic collaborator who thrives at building professional relationships, cultivating meaningful partnerships, and takes pride in developing and implementing initiatives that increase relevance, diversity and value to membership communities.
Allyson McAlister
Communications Consultant
Kelly Melville-Kelly
Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Risk, Policy and Compliance
Kelly brings over 20 years of financial services expertise, working with both lenders and networks in later-life lending, helping to drive improvements and create best practice. Kelly has previously held regulated positions at Alliance & Leicester and Legal & General.
Sarah Hall
Membership and Engagement Consultant
Sarah has been work with the Equity Release Council for over 10 years. Having previously worked for an equity release financial adviser and Sun Life of Canada for over 20 years. Sarah is the Administration and Service Manager for Equity Release Council and deals with all aspects of the membership process, onboarding new members and dealing with the renewals and any membership queries.
Jim Boyd
Chief Executive Officer of the Equity Release Council
Jim was appointed CEO of the Equity Release Council in June 2018. He joined from Reform think tank (now Re:State), where he was Deputy Director and Head of Research.
Prior to this he was an Expert Adviser to Welfare Reform Ministers (in the House of Lords and Commons) at the Department for Work and Pensions.
Jim has extensive experience of retirement and social care funding having led the Corporate Affairs functions at insurers Britannic Retirement Solutions, Just Retirement and Partnership Assurance.
Jim led campaigns which resulted in changes to secondary legislation to provide better options for annuitants at retirement, primary legislation to regulate reversionary equity release; and amended the Care Bill to place a duty on local authorities to sign-post citizens in the care system to appropriate financial advice.
He is an insights expert at the Intergenerational Longevity Commission-UK; an Age Irrelevance Ambassador, a campaign set up by the Baroness Greengross’ Foundation and was a member of the Public Policy Projects’ Social Care Policy Network. Jim is a former tax and trusts lawyer.
Thomas Brett
Head of Commercial and Business Development
With over 13 years of experience in the later equity release market, Thomas has worked in a variety of roles including as a front-line adviser, business development and project management for brokerages and technology providers. With a particular focus on customer acquisition and partnerships, Thomas puts the customer at the heart of everything, and continues to work on improving the later life lending industry for everyone.
Kate O’Dowd
Risk, Policy, and Compliance Associate
Kate joined the Equity Release Council in February 2024 as Risk, Policy, and Compliance assistant. Kate has over eight years experience in the equity release sector starting as a customer service agent at The Right Equity Release. Before joining the Council, Kate held the position of Business Support Manager at The Equity Release Experts who were part of Key Group. This role involved building relationships with stakeholders and providers, assisting advisers with queries, and providing management with sales reports and conversions. Kate also has experience working in the retail sector.
Jennifer Logue
Executive and Governance Assistant
Jennifer joined the Equity Release Council in 2022 as an executive PA and admin support. She has over 15 years’ experience in administrative roles in local government and healthcare, in both public and private sector settings. Jennifer has a degree from the University of Surrey and now lives in Essex with her family.
Laura Gibson
Head of Membership and Engagement
Laura has spent 15 years working within the non-profit and membership sector. She has a strong background in project management, product and service development, communications and business operations.
With a passion for people and all things membership, Laura is an enthusiastic collaborator who thrives at building professional relationships, cultivating meaningful partnerships, and takes pride in developing and implementing initiatives that increase relevance, diversity and value to membership communities.
Work for us
The equity release industry is growing fast and as its dedicated trade association, so are we! Follow the link below to view our latest roles:
Check for Roles