Money worries may bring on chronic stress - could equity release help?

26 July 2011

Older people may become stressed as their outgoings rise and they struggle to work out how they are going to be able to pay the bills at the end of each month.

Equity release schemes could therefore be a more attractive choice for homeowners aged between 55 and 95, as they will be able to remain in their home while freeing up some of the income that is currently locked away inside it.

According to therapist Dan Roberts, being worried about money can bring on chronic stress - especially when the debts get to unsustainable levels.

He explained he does not mean people who have a mortgage, instead referring to those who need to rely on credit cards and other means of borrowing to pay for shopping each month.

"The thing about debt is it's chronic stress, day in day out - a trickle effect that doesn't really go away. It's not something that happens then stops, I think people can find that really difficult - it can be really damaging," said Mr Roberts.

He added that stress levels could be set to rise over the coming months as it seems likely more people are going to lose their jobs as a result of the state of the economy.

It was announced this morning (July 26th) growth slowed to just 0.2 per cent in the second quarter of the year, down on expectations and the figures from the first three months of 2011.

This could mean firms are under pressure to reduce outgoings and jobs may be under threat, with older workers perhaps in a vulnerable position as a result.

Homeowners aged between 55 and 95 could therefore use equity release plans to make their financial situation a bit more stable, without having to sell up and move.

"We're going to see a knock-on effect of more people losing their jobs and obviously small businesses are going to start going under even more," predicted Mr Roberts.

The report comes after comments made by Joanne Mallon -a life and career coach - suggest that people's wellbeing can take a hit if they are worried about debts.

She explained individuals in this position must plan how they are going to get out of financial difficulties, or the stress is likely to get worse.

Using the equity release calculator from Key could therefore be a good option for homeowners aged between 55 and 95 who want to assess their choices.