Equity release lets a homeowner aged 55 or over turn part of their home’s value into tax-free cash without moving out. It is the highest-stakes decision on this site, because the cost compounds quietly for the rest of your life. Advice is not optional: by law an equity release plan can only be arranged through a qualified, FCA-regulated adviser.
What equity release actually is
There are two routes. A lifetime mortgage, the common one, is a loan secured against a home you still own; you make no monthly payments unless you choose to, and the interest is added to the balance and repaid when the house is sold. A home reversion plan instead sells all or part of your home to a provider for less than its market value, letting you live there rent-free for life.
Lifetime mortgages offer more choice than most expect. On a roll-up plan you pay nothing and the debt grows. On interest-served plans you pay some or all of the monthly interest, holding the balance steady. Many also ring-fence a fixed percentage of the property’s value as guaranteed inheritance, worth asking for if leaving an estate matters.
The two forms of equity release, side by side
| Lifetime mortgage | Home reversion | |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | You keep full ownership | You sell all or part to the provider |
| What you receive | A loan, lump sum or in stages | Cash worth less than the share sold |
| Cost | Interest, rolled up or paid monthly | The provider’s share of the sale price |
| Minimum age | 55 | Usually 60 to 65 |
| How it ends | Repaid when you die or enter care | Provider takes its share on sale |
How the interest builds: a worked illustration
On a roll-up plan you make no repayments, so each year’s interest is added to what you already owe, and next year’s interest is charged on that larger figure. This is compounding, working against you. The rate is normally fixed for life, but the debt still grows on a curve that surprises families.
Take an illustrative fixed rate of around 5% a year, used here only to show the mechanism; your actual rate will differ. At about 5%, a balance doubles roughly every fifteen years. So a £70,000 release becomes about £140,000 after fifteen years, and around £280,000 after thirty. Borrow in your sixties and live into your nineties, and the sum repaid can be several times what you took.
The safeguards, and two warnings you must weigh
The market is far safer than its old reputation, thanks largely to the Equity Release Council. A plan from a Council member carries these guarantees:
- 1
No-negative-equity guarantee
You can never owe more than your home is worth; any shortfall on the sale is written off.
- 2
The right to remain for life
You keep the right to live in your home until you die or move into long-term care.
- 3
Penalty-free voluntary payments
You can make voluntary repayments to slow or stop the interest rolling up, penalty-free.
- 4
Independent legal advice
A solicitor of your own must confirm you understand the plan before it completes.
Two warnings the law requires you to weigh
Equity release reduces the value of your estate, so there will be less, or nothing, to pass on. And the cash you release may affect your entitlement to means-tested benefits such as Pension Credit or Council Tax Support.
Who it’s for, and what to try first
Equity release can be right: clearing a mortgage that would force a sale, funding care at home, or helping family now rather than through a will. But because it is so long-lived, exhaust the alternatives first; a regulated adviser must explore them with you:
- Downsizing to a smaller or cheaper home, which frees cash with no borrowing or interest.
- A retirement-interest-only (RIO) mortgage, where you pay the interest monthly so the debt never grows, often cheaper if affordable.
- Unclaimed benefits and grants; many older homeowners are owed Pension Credit, Attendance Allowance or Council Tax reductions.
- Help from family, or a smaller sum borrowed over a shorter term.
For later-life care, weigh it against care fee planning, and read our fuller guide to equity release first.
What it costs, and how we’re paid
Equity release advice is almost always a fixed fee, often payable only when the plan completes rather than up front. On top of it, budget for a solicitor and sometimes a lender valuation or arrangement fee. But the largest cost by far is the interest rate itself, so comparing plans matters more than the advice fee.
Vetted Wealth is free to you. We are an introducer, not an adviser: we match you with an independently vetted, FCA-regulated equity release specialist, paid by the adviser firm, never by you. We give information, not advice; the recommendation is always the adviser’s. You can find vetted specialists across Devon and Cornwall.
The bottom line
- Available from age 55: a lifetime mortgage borrows against a home you still own; home reversion sells part of it.
- On a roll-up plan the interest compounds; at an illustrative 5% a balance roughly doubles every fifteen years.
- Council plans guarantee no negative equity, the right to remain for life, and penalty-free voluntary payments.
- Two facts are non-negotiable: it reduces your estate, and it can affect means-tested benefits.
- Exhaust downsizing, a RIO mortgage, unclaimed benefits and family help first; advice is mandatory before any plan.
Where we operate
Vetted Wealth is live across Devon and Cornwall, with further counties opening through 2026. Choose your county to see the towns we cover and the advisers we have vetted there.
Most people start on their county page and then pick their town. If you would rather skip that, use the form on this page, tell us where you are and we will match you with a vetted equity release specialist near you.
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This page is information, not personal advice. When you are ready, we will introduce you to an independently vetted, FCA-regulated adviser, free, and with no obligation. Investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invest.