Just Retirement welcomes growth in equity release

Second quarter figures from SHIP show that demand for equity release has not been affected by the problems in the UK housing market, comments Just Retirement.

David Cooper, Marketing Director at Just Retirement said: "As a leading provider of equity release products in the UK, we are very pleased to see the growth in the market. Just Retirement strongly believes that equity release should be considered an integral component of retirement planning. Judging by these figures, it would appear that this is becoming the case.

We totally agree with Andrea Rozario in that the underlying fundamentals of equity release are different from the wider housing market and that demand is a function of falling pension provision and growing expectations of retirement combined with high levels of equity held in the home.

Just Retirement believes that the need to consolidate funding requirements in an expensive environment is currently playing a part in driving demand. Current predictions for the UK economy suggest that this factor will be important for some time. We are convinced that long-term demand will be robust and that awareness is growing of the opportunities to improve retirement that are presented by equity release We are certainly seeing a greater range of uses for the funds released by equity release. The prospects of customers having the security of more money in their retirement is particularly pertinent given the current economic climate.

The funding problems faced by the banks and building societies in the wholesale markets have been well documented. However, it is worth noting that providers, like Just Retirement whose funding is completely internally generated, have not been affected in the same way and we continue to offer competitive rates.

We are also pleased to see the continued growth in draw-down products within the equity release market as this is a positive sign that customers are receiving advice and planning ahead for the whole of their retirement. Just Retirement is a specialist in this area and we believe the growth of this sector will continue and stimulate further innovation in the flexibility provided for customers."