POLICY AND COMMUNICATIONS UPDATE
External Communications
Media profile
The Council’s Q4 2018 figures were issued at the start of the year and the release highlighted the steady growth of the equity release market. It was covered more than 50 times across national, consumer and trade publications including the Daily Express, the Daily Mail, The Sun and This is Money.
Another highlight of the quarter was the Council’s Spring 2019 Market Report. It focused on equity release moving into the mainstream of financial services and the significant role it is playing in funding retirement. The Report has been covered 20 times so far since its launch to media on 2 April, with standout pieces of coverage in The Times, Financial Times, Daily Express and This is Money, accompanied by widespread coverage in trade media, including positive industry commentary in response to the report.
The Council’s media strategy has been complemented with relationship building with key journalists. There was a mixture of national, trade and consumer media briefings, including Sarah Davidson and Will Kirkman (ThisisMoney / Mail Online), James Pickford (Financial Times) and Janice Morley (Evening Standard).
Other significant proactive media opportunities included an interview between Jim Boyd and Elder Magazine, which led to a profile piece on how equity release can be used to fund social care costs. David Burrowes’ took part in two interviews with BBC Humberside, one of which was a listener dial-in. In addition, the Council’s comment on the inclusion of property wealth onto the pensions dashboard in January was covered in Money Observer, Moneywise Magazine, Pensions Age and Best Advice, as well as receiving engagement from Sunday Times Money Editor James Coney in FT Adviser, and pensions commentator Henry Tapper in the Pension PlayPen blog.
Press office
The Council handled an influx of inbound media enquiries from the likes of the Financial Times, the Daily Mail, ThisisMoney, the Evening Standard, the Daily Telegraph, the Sunday Times and The Guardian as well as the key mortgage and adviser trades.
The enquiries covered topics such as the inability to downsize being a driver for equity release market growth, potential issues arising from phone versus face-to-face advice, growth prospects for the equity release industry and repossession timings in properties – with Council responses ensuring that messaging around robust standards were prevalent. This is a sign that 2019 is following a similar path to 2018 in terms of growing media interest on equity release. It is also testament to the work that the Council, members and the industry have done to bring the sector into the mainstream, which has understandably been accompanied by greater scrutiny.
Public Policy
Regulatory
The first quarter of this year has been a busy period for the regulators with several noteworthy consultations and reports being published. In addition to this the Department for Work and Pensions has consulted on, and published their response to, the Pensions Dashboard, which the Council was pleased to submit its views on.
In late March the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its final report from the Mortgage Market Study, a study that has been ongoing since 2016. The FCA’s final report looks positively on the mortgage market whilst also highlighting areas that require further work, particularly around broker choice and eligibility criteria. These are two areas that the Council has been working closely with the FCA on in order to ensure that the views of members are taken into account and consumer choice is prioritised.
The regulators have also consulted on a range of topics impacting the industry, the most recent of which has been a second Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) consultation on Solvency II, which the Council’s dedicated working group is reviewing. The FCA and PRA conducted a joint consultation regarding Mortgage Reporting Requirements, which sought to plug gaps in the data that the regulators currently receive from the industry. The FCA published its final rules following its Retirement Outcomes Review, which seeks to provide those reaching retirement age with greater information to inform decisions.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provided cross-sector guidance on identifying and protecting vulnerable consumers, which will be used going forward to inform its decision-making processes. Finally, more than 40 leading property developers and freeholders signed a Government-backed pledge to free existing leaseholders trapped on onerous deals, this included reforms to make retirement property fees more transparent.
Political engagement
Intergenerational Fairness and Housing Wealth Roundtable
On the 13th of March the Council hosted – in conjunction with Key Retirement Group – a roundtable discussion on the topic of Intergenerational Fairness and Housing Wealth. This was the inaugural roundtable event in a new series, and the Council was delighted to be joined not only by our keynote speaker – former Minister and Chairman of the Resolution Foundation – The Rt. Hon. Lord Willetts, but also the Minister for Pensions and Financial Inclusion Guy Opperman MP.
Other guests included Lord Best, Vice President of the Local Government Association, John Stevenson MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Intergenerational Fairness and Inheritance and representatives from the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and Pensions Policy Institute to name a few.
Lord Willetts said after the event: “It is important to promote equity release as one way in which housing capital can be turned into income for the owners and also for their family. Our research at Resolution shows that the typical person will now inherit when they are in their early sixties. Equity release is therefore one way of helping other members of the family access these funds sooner.”
Although we intend to run a series of similar meeting during 2019 they are currently small and we have very limited space for guests – we hope to evolve these into events where all members can attend.
Member Mapping
Alongside the policy engagement programme, we have mapped all Council members across the country to ascertain hot-spot areas and opportunities for future regional engagement. In April, PCC members will be asked to share details of their engagement with Members of Parliament to ensure efforts are aligned.
Member communications
Monthly Monitoring Report
Following the Members’ survey, the Council has created a new monthly political and regulatory monitoring report. This will be shared with members at the start of each month, as well as being available on the Council’s website.
