ERSA claims one-third of people favour equity release

Research carried out by the Equity Release Solicitors’ Alliance (ERSA) shows that one-third of people in the UK consider equity release to be a key element of their retirement planning. The survey showed that 12% of adults would definitely use equity release to finance their retirement and 20% would consider it.

However, ERSA found that commission-based equity release advice was strongly favoured, with 59% claiming they would be unwilling to pay for an hour of advice from a specialist equity release financial advisor. The survey showed that 42% of consumers felt it was important that advisers did not charge an upfront fee and 42% said a free initial consultation and specialist qualifications were important.

ERSA chairman, Claire Barker, said: “We have a love affair with property and I don’t think that will change anytime soon which has driven a rise in the popularity of equity release.

“However, attitudes towards paying for this advice are concerning and these findings show that more needs to be done to promote the advantages for consumers of a fee-based model of advice.”