New MP discusses equity release in maiden speech

New MP for the UK’s Meon Valley constituency, George Hollingbery, highlighted the potential importance of the equity release sector by mentioning it in his maiden speech at the House of Commons last week.

During the speech Mr Hollingbery talked about problems affecting a large number of retirees, many of whom find that after many years of paying tax, the value of their pensions is a lot lower than they expected. While he recognised that equity release could be a solution, he explained not all people of retirement age are fully in the know when it comes to this type of product.

He said: “Among my constituents there are a great many people who, to their enormous surprise, find themselves in challenging economic circumstances. Most of them are in their 70s. They often own an asset, in their own homes. They have saved and accumulated pensions, but rarely are any of them more than modest in scope. Over the past several years, through a combination of low returns on savings, the lack of eligibility for state help, rising energy bills and, particularly, the cost of ever-increasing council tax, many of them are finding it very difficult to get by.

“Yes, they could sell their homes, but most of them already live in small dwellings and cannot practically downsize without moving away from their friends and family. Yes, they could use equity release schemes and enjoy a modestly increased income from capital, but many of them now struggle to find such products or, in fact, are scared of using them.”