Later life is changing. Should the way we use our property wealth change too?

Later life doesn’t look quite like it used to.

People’s health and lifestyles are changing, and many are staying active for longer. Charles Roe puts it simply: he is more active than his parents were when they were his age.

That change raises an interesting question. If people are living differently in later life, should we also be thinking differently about when they access the money tied up in their homes?

Thinking differently about home equity

For many homeowners, a significant amount of their wealth can be tied up in their property.

Traditionally, there can be a tendency to think about accessing that equity much later. But Charles Roe highlights the idea of accessing it earlier, alongside the wider changes we’re seeing in people’s health and lifestyles.

It’s less about following a traditional idea of what later life should look like and more about recognising that everyone’s circumstances are different.

Later life lending for real life

That matters when we think about later life lending.

Customers don’t all reach the same age with the same plans, income, property or financial circumstances. Their needs can be complex and their reasons for borrowing personal.

For intermediaries, that makes it increasingly important to look at the individual behind the application and consider the options that could work for their circumstances.

At LiveMore, that’s exactly the kind of thinking we believe later life lending needs: looking at real lives, understanding individual circumstances and finding a way forward wherever possible.

Watch the full conversation

Watch Charles Roe, Industry Adviser, discuss changing lifestyles, accessing home equity earlier and why later life today can look very different from previous generations.

For intermediaries only.