• A lifetime mortgage gives you the choice of a cash lump sum or income with the option of no monthly repayments to meet. Usually interest is added to the lifetime mortgage loan throughout your lifetime or paid on a monthly basis, accruing at a fixed or variable rate. The loan plus any interest added is eventually paid back when the home is sold, usually when you move into long term care, or when you and your partner die.


• You retain full ownership of your home.


• Lifetime mortgages are available to younger people (aged 55+) although generally, the older you are, the more you may be able to release.


• We would only recommend lifetime mortgage products which include a “No negative equity guarantee” – meaning that the amount you owe will never be more than the property is worth.


• You can drawdown cash in a number of ways – as a lump sum, by making withdrawals in stages, as and when you need them, or you may be able to request a monthly income – you are in control and you don’t have to take all of the equity which may be available to you.


• You only pay interest on the amount released


• Some lifetime mortgage plans let you guarantee an inheritance for your family. Ask us for more information as not all schemes offer this facility. With some lifetime mortgages, the interest rolls up over time and must eventually be repaid along with the amount borrowed, and this can potentially reduce the value of any inheritance to nothing.


• With some providers you can service the debt by paying the interest monthly, this stops the debt increasing.

For details of our fees for mortgage advice, please see the “How we are paid” page.