Alan and Jean – Equity Release

Despite Alan earning a healthy six figure salary and living in a house worth £900,000, having four of his five children go to University and then one do a Masters too, meant he had built up unsecured debt and had stopped making overpayments to his interest-only mortgage.

Alan’s wife Jean only worked part time and having just turned 65 the couple were keen to retire but their mortgage still had to be repaid and their pension income was not sufficient to cover their requirements.

The stress of their situation led to Alan developing several health issues which he was on medication for.  Alan and Jean sought advice from us after speaking to their son, who was an existing client after we helped him buy his first flat.

Alan and Jean’s main concerns were:

• Repaying all their debt
• Having sufficient income to live
• They did not want to have to sell their family home to achieve these two goals

What we did for Alan and Jean:

• Assessed their pre- and post-retirement income and expenditure
• Explained the effects of taking out a Lifetime Mortgage to repay their current mortgage and unsecured debt
• When they were ready, we facilitated this mortgage change and arranged for them to liaise with a solicitor who specialised in Equity Release
• On their behalf, we approached annuity providers, explaining Alan’s health issues and secured for the couple an enhanced income that was not offered by their current provider

Benefits for Alan and Jean:

As a result of our consultations, Alan and Jean are now both retired and living more comfortably on their pension income.

This has allowed them time to enjoy the early years of their retirement without having to move out of their family home.  They intend to downsize and repay the mortgage when they are 70 and perhaps invest or gift some of their equity to their children.