July 11, 2019

Media and Public Affairs update

Media

The Council’s chair David Burrowes was interviewed by the BBC ahead of a forthcoming series exploring themes related to later life. During a segment on equity release, David gave an overview of the financial product and outlined its consumer protections. Holding Back The Years is due to air in the spring – watch this space!

Chief Operating Officer Donna Bathgate was profiled in Mortgage Solutions in November, providing her views on the market and the opportunities that lie ahead for the equity release sector in 2018.

The Council has been shortlisted for ‘Thought Leadership Initiative of the Year’ at the 2018 Headline Money Awards in recognition of The Council’s Equity release: rebooted campaign, which incorporated a white paper and parliamentary launch event in spring last year.

 

Public Affairs

Stakeholder engagement

Continuing its active stakeholder engagement programme, the Council met and corresponded with parliamentarians across a range of issues, in particular:

Housing for older people

The Council wrote to the Communities and Local Government Committee in December regarding the equity release could play in helping to meet the housing needs of older people. The Chair of the Committee has requested a meeting with the Council to discuss this matter in more detail next month.

Single Financial Guidance Body

Ahead of the second reading of the Financial Guidance and Claims Bill in the House of Commons in January, The Council prepared a briefing for MPs emphasising that guidance on housing wealth should be included as part of the remit of the new Single Financial Guidance Body, due to launch later in the year. This would help consumers to consider all their retirement options together.

The Council also met the chief executive of The Pensions Advisory Service in November last year to discuss the plans for the forthcoming Single Financial Guidance.

Solvency II

The Council met senior officials at the Prudential Regulation Authority in November last year, to discuss the impact of the Solvency II Directive on the equity release sector. The Council is following up on those discussions with the PRA as well as keeping in touch with other trade bodies to discuss common areas of interest in relation to Solvency II.

Policy workshops and roundtables

Representatives of The Council have participated in a range of stakeholder events during the last quarter, including launches of the Financial Conduct Authority’s Future Approach to Consumers; Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association’s Hitting the Target: Delivering Better Retirement Outcomes; and A Good Retirement published by the cross-party think tank Demos.

Consultation responses

There is a new Consultation area on The Council website. Do take a look.

The Council responded to Financial Conduct Authority consultation on retirement interest-only mortgages. The Council also submitted a response to the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association on delivering better retirement outcomes.

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