While equity release schemes have been available for many years, the concept of the enhanced equity release seems to have been a more recent addition. However, the history of the impaired equity release has been around for almost a decade.
Companies back then such as Partnership & Hodge did offer enhanced or impaired life home reversion schemes. In fact Hodge themselves did have an enhanced lifetime mortgage that was withdrawn only pre credit crunch era. These plans were not sold a great deal and their impact was minimal.
More recently enhanced lifetime mortgages have seen a resurgence in popularity as they have been redesigned & improvements made to the underwriting process. Enhancement to an equity release mortgage means that the amount of equity available to you can be increased based on your current or pre-existing health conditions. It works similar to the impaired rates offered from annuity providers whereby based on a medical questionnaire, the lenders underwriters will assess the maximum equity release available.
Equity Release providers who currently offer Enhanced Lifetime Mortgage rates are:
- Aviva
- More2Life
- Just Retirement
- Partnership
Aviva equity release offer 2 plans; the Aviva Lump Sum Max offers a higher loan amount if you qualify for impaired terms. Alternatively, you could benefit from being charged a lower interest rate on the Aviva Lifestyle Flexible Option, with rates starting as low as 5.63% (5.7% representative APR).
More2life & Partnership offer a lower qualification threshold than Aviva for qualification on their enhanced lifetime mortgage schemes. Where Aviva offer one enhanced lifetime loan-to-value ratio, More2life & Partnership provide different levels of maximum release based on how serious the impairment is.
Just Retirement being specialists in the enhanced annuity market take a more scientific approach & will consider more illnesses including COPD. Their actuaries will individually assess each Lump Sum Plus case to determine the maximum equity release available.
What illnesses qualify for an enhanced lifetime mortgage?
On top of the usual acceptace criteria for equity release, you will have to fill out a health & lifestyle questionnaire to assess your eligibility. Most of the qualifying impaired health conditions are shared across all of the above lenders and include -
- Height and weight
- Smoking details
- High blood pressure
- Heart attack
- Diabetes
- Stroke
- Angina
- Cancer
- Parkinson’s Disease
- MS
- Early retirement due to ill health
- Even whether prescription medication is being taken
The amount of extra money that you can release depends on three factors; age of the youngest applicant, the value of the property & which conditions you have & the level of severity of each impairment.
You may simply qualify for an enhanced lifetime mortgage based on your height and weight which is represented by your BMI (Body Mass Index). Typically, the greater the number of conditions you have, the higher the maximum equity release loan amount that is available.
What are the qualifying criteria for an enhanced equity release?
The minimum age is 55, which out of the four equity release companies only Aviva will accept and additionally there is no maximum age. Joint life customers can also apply although it’s usually the health of the younger person which affects any enhanced rate. The minimum property value can be as low as £60,000 from More2life while properties must be located in England, Scotland & Wales with Aviva also lending in Northern Ireland. The lowest enhanced equity release available is £10,000 with no upper limit from the likes of Aviva.
How much more tax free cash does enhancement provide?
A recent client of mine, age 69 had a property valued at £250,000. Based on standard terms he was able to release a maximum equity release loan of £86,250. However, he suffers with high blood pressure and diabetes. Based on his ill-health & completion of a health & lifestyle questionnaire, the loan amount was increased to £104,500 by More2Life, so he was able to release an extra £18,250.
He set the More2life enhanced lifetime mortgage plan on a drawdown basis. This enabled them to release an initial £30,000 and still leave a reserve facility of £74,500 with More2life which he can access in the future without incurring further fees. This meant he has the flexibility of a drawdown lifetime mortgage but with the benefit of an enhanced drawdown facility.
Will I need to have a medical?
The good news is that you won’t have to attend a medical to qualify for enhanced terms. Lenders ask you to complete a health & lifestyle questionnaire and sign to confirm that your medical details are correct. Following submission of the equity release application, each lender may simply write to your doctor to confirm that your conditions are accurate, so that you qualify for the best terms possible.
If you are a smoker, they may ask you to undergo a simple non-invasive test and require you to confirm your consumption and the extent of your smoking habit. The test, which they arrange and pay for, is carried out by a qualified nurse in the comfort of your own home.
How do I find out if I qualify for enhanced terms?
You should always to seek advice from an independent equity release specialist. As part of the process of checking whether equity release is suitable for you or not, we will always ask clients for details of their medical history to ensure that we can tailor any advice to their fit their circumstances. At the end of our initial meeting we would then conduct research from the whole of the equity release market to find the most suitable plan. If you do qualify for an enhanced rate, we can then produce an equity release key facts illustration to explain how the lifetime mortgage works.
Where can I get more information?
We have information on all the enhanced products in the compare equity release deals section of our website along with the useful enhanced equity release calculator.
If you wish to speak directly with me, please feel free to contact me direct on 07415 275669 or email [email protected] for further information. There’s no obligation and any information you provide is confidential.
