Equity Release Council releases guide to help understand fees and charges across equity release products

The Equity Release Council has produced an informative guide to help customers comprehend, assess, and compare various fees and costs of equity release products. This guide outlines a consistent approach to explaining fees and charges using language that is straightforward, concise and uniform - ensuring it's simple for everyone to comprehend. Drawing upon insight from Council members who are experts in the fields of advising, providing services and legal knowledge, our content has been carefully crafted. All equity release firms are being urged to utilize the language suggested in this guide when discussing fees and charges, so that it becomes simpler for consumers to evaluate products and their associated costs.
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Jim Boyd, CEO at the Equity Release Council, said: “When people take out any new financial services product such as equity release, they often face a few unfamiliar terms and definitions. Each firm often uses slightly different language which makes it harder for consumers to quickly identify how product fees differ and can be challenging when comparing costs.
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“The Council’s guidance describes all the fees and charges that could be relevant to an equity release application, depending on its complexity. Our aim is to establish a set of standard definitions to help consumers to understand their options as they explore the equity release process with a regulated adviser.
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“We understand adopting changes takes time, but the arrival of the Consumer Duty is a chance for industry to take stock and move towards a standardised approach. We hope all firms will take this guidance on board when they next revisit their approach, so it becomes the standard across the equity release market.”
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Consumers will be able to access the guide from via: www.equityreleasecouncil.com/consumers
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We also have a comprehensive Equity Release guide which can be found here: "Our Guide to Equity Release"