It’s time to deliver some ‘Home Truths’
New research from Retirement Advantage uncovers a pressing opportunity for advisers to help retirees rethink how their property can be used to fund retirement. It has published a report which reveals that 57% of those aged 55 and over recognise their pension is worth less than their property. However, despite the vast wealth held in property among over 55s and the growth of the equity release market, there remains huge untapped potential.
With rules around pensions and inheritance undergoing fundamental change, Retirement Advantage’s Home Truths report, which is available in both adviser and consumer versions, argues that advisers should encourage a step change in the thinking of clients planning for retirement about how property can be used.
However, to trigger a rethink on sources of retirement income, advisers will benefit from a better understanding of the emotional attachments people have with property, and how it currently affects the way they think and behave.
Alice Watson, head of marketing at Retirement Advantage Equity Release, said: ‘The old-world view, that our retirement income will be based primarily on our pension, simply won’t deliver for most people anymore. A series of rule changes and wider demographic trends have ensured that. For many, the answer will lie in thinking in a new way about how wealth tied up in assets such as property can be part of the solution.”
