Males to Consider Equity Release Schemes in Future?

17 June 2011

Men may not be taking the required measures to ensure they are financially stable during their retirement.

Equity release schemes could be the answer to their problems as Martin Bamford, chartered financial planner at Informed Choice, noted that from his experience females are "more clued-up" when it comes to pensions.

He continued by saying there is a gender divide in terms of the attitude towards organisation, adding: "[Women] tend to view retirement and take retirement planning much more seriously than men do."

"Speaking in general terms I think that a good job has been done in educating women about the need to have retirement provision and they're really waking up to that message," Mr Bamford observed.

For those who have failed to make plans for when they stop working, one option they could consider is equity release.

Mr Bamford's comments came after a study from unbiased.co.uk discovered retirement planning remains the number one priority for people in the UK.

A total of 41 per cent of respondents indicated this is the reason they would seek independent financial advice.

Some 28 per cent said that investments and savings would see them consult specialists, while 14 per cent would do so because of mortgages.

Karen Barrett, chief executive of the website, said: "It's no surprise that retirement planning and savings advice continue to dominate."

She remarked that consumers appear to be giving serious consideration to the issue of how they will sustain themselves in the long term.

For homeowners aged between 55 and 95 who are worried about the amount of money they have set aside for the rest of their life, equity release could be the cash-generating tool they consider.

If they do decide to go down this route, they should use the equity release calculator from Key to discover whether or not they are eligible.

Posted by Alison Stephenson