“Although I had run my own veterinary pet food business for decades, I still didn’t have much of a pension. At my age, I wouldn’t have been able to take out a new mortgage, and I wanted to pay off the debt on my property so I could reduce my monthly outgoings.

“When I bought my semi-detached house in London in the 1970s, it was worth £32,000. I’m nearly 80 now and the property has grown in value to an amount that is much more than I need to live on.

“By taking money out of my estate now, I’ve been able to pay off my mortgage, boost my retirement income and help prevent my children from facing a hefty inheritance tax bill when I die. It’s meant I can stay in my family home, close to my children and they can have their inheritance when they need it the most.

“I researched equity release heavily before I made my decision. I weighed up the pros and cons and compared all the different equity release companies. Taking equity release really was the best option for me – the only other one would have been to move house and I didn’t want to do that. For both me and my family, equity release has proved to be the best choice we could have made.”

This case study was supplied by Key.

It was first published in the Council’s Anniversary Report in January 2022. To read the report please click here.