The Intermediary – September 2025 - Flipbook - Page 76
L AT E R L I F E L E N D I N G
Opinion
Make it easier
for advisers with
older clients
M
uch of the
mortgage market
discussion
centres on firsttime buyers.
Affordability,
deposit hurdles and product
innovation aimed at younger
borrowers tend to dominate debates,
yet there is an equally significant
demographic whose needs cannot be
overlooked: older homeowners.
The UK has an ageing population.
Many of those in later life still
require access to finance, whether
to refinance existing borrowing,
manage intergenerational wealth,
or release equity to support their
retirement. Their demand for suitable
products, and for quality advice, is
not diminishing.
That represents a terrific
opportunity for advisers, and also a
challenge for networks. We need to
step up to support advisers.
It’s encouraging to see the way
lenders have recognised the need to
improve their propositions in order
to meet the needs of older borrowers.
The latest was Newcastle for
Intermediaries, which removed its age
cap entirely on standard mortgages
– a recognition that the previous way
of doing things was stunting options
unnecessarily for older borrowers.
This trend is to be welcomed.
Lenders have begun to appreciate
an evolving borrower profile,
and are acting to ensure they are
not arbitrarily excluded from the
mainstream market.
Such innovation represents an
important step forward, and should be
viewed as part of a broader movement
to make products more inclusive.
There is clearly a lot of work to
be done, however. A recent mystery
shopper exercise by the Family
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The Intermediary | September 2025
Building Society revealed a wariness
among some lenders, particularly
the high street giants, to work with
borrowers who are more mature or
even retired.
As an industry, we can’t bury our
heads in the sand. Borrowers are
geing older, and the sooner lenders of
all sizes not only accept this reality but
adapt their processes, then the beer
we will all be.
Looking beyond
Mainstream mortgages will not
always provide the appropriate
solution. For some clients, a specialist
lifetime mortgage will be the beer
route, allowing them to unlock some
of the housing equity they have built
up. That way, they get all the benefits
of downsizing, without the upheaval
such a move involves.
With the regulator keeping a
watchful eye over the treatment of
older clients, it’s more important than
ever for advisers to have a clear plan
for handling such cases. For some, that
will mean securing the qualifications
to advise directly on equity release.
For others, it will make sense to build
referral arrangements with later
life specialists.
There isn’t a ‘wrong’ option here,
other than to not have a strategy
in place at all. This isn’t something
advisers can put off any longer.
Networks have a central role to play.
Advisers require both the skills and
the confidence to engage with older
borrowers, supported by practical
training and a framework that enables
them to diversify where necessary.
At Rosemount, we recently hosted
a masterclass with Legal & General
which supported advisers in gaining
their equity release qualifications.
The day featured interactive tasks
and exercises to help advisers
AHMED BAWA
is CEO at Rosemount Financial
Solutions (IFA)
beer understand the sector, as
well as improve their chances of
passing the Certificate in Regulated
Equity Release.
The feedback, and the results, speak
for themselves. Of the eight advisers
who aended, six have already passed
the exam, while two more have dates
booked in.
Initiatives of this nature provide
tangible benefits, both for advisers
in expanding their propositions
and for clients in accessing highquality advice.
It’s a demonstration of how quality
networks can open new doors for
advisers, and help them not only reach
their potential, but deliver a higher
standard of service to their clients.
That only happens with the right
backing, rather than with networks
that view their members as numbers
instead of individuals.
Clients are working longer, living
longer, and seeking ways to make
their property wealth work harder.
Advisers need to be able to deliver
for them, whether by extending
their own permissions or by forming
strategic partnerships.
For networks, the challenge is to
provide structured, forward-looking
support. Those that make it easier for
advisers to support older borrowers
will help secure the sustainability of
their members’ businesses, while also
ensuring clients continue to receive
the advice they need.
Later life lending is not a niche, but
a central feature of today’s mortgage
market. Advisers and networks that
take proactive steps now will be best
placed to serve their clients, strengthen
their businesses, and meet the demands
of an ageing population. ●
