We offer later life mortgages to help you meet your client's needs throughout their retirement.
A later life mortgage is a loan secured on the home for over 55s. Our later life mortgages are made up of Lifetime Mortgages and a Retirement Interest Only mortgage.
More people are using later life mortgages as part of their retirement planning. This isn’t surprising. A later life mortgage can support your clients’ retirement plans in a number of ways. It maybe used to provide a more comfortable retirement, or instead of taking income from pensions. This could mitigate income tax and reduce any tax payable on death.
A later life mortgage can help transfer money to children or grandchildren, perhaps to help buy a first home, or even pay off your client's existing mortgage. It can act as a backstop in case of unexpected expenses, or be used to fund care costs. It can even help if couples separate or divorce in later life.
Our Flexible Lifetime Mortgage provides a lump sum without the need to make any regular payments. Our Optional Payment Lifetime Mortgage gives your clients the flexibility to pay some or all of the monthly interest – but it’s not compulsory; while our Retirement Interest Only Mortgage is designed for clients who commit to pay all of the monthly interest.
Our later life mortgages
Lifetime Mortgages
A lifetime mortgage is a loan secured against your client's home. There's no need to make monthly payments. The amount borrowed and the added interest aren't usually repaid until they die or move out of the home into long-term care. However, there may be cheaper ways to borrow money.
If your clients are looking to release some money from their home to increase their income in retirement, this could be a good option for them.
Retirement Interest Only Mortgage
A Retirement Interest Only Mortgage is a loan secured against your client's home. They have to pay the interest off monthly, but the full amount of the loan isn't usually repaid until they die or move out of the home into long-term care. As a last resort, their home may be repossessed if they do not keep up repayments.
If your clients are looking to release some money from their home to pay off an existing mortgage, this is one of the options available to them.
Energy Saver Cashback offer
Helping your clients
We’ll provide 10% cashback on the total cost of home energy efficiency improvements, up to £1,000 on an initial advance or £200 on a lifetime mortgage drawdown.
New to Legal & General?
Register for our Later Life Mortgages Portal to quote on our products.
Marketing templates
Download useful templates for posters, letters and emails to help save you some valuable time while you build your business.
Lifetime mortgages and retirement interest-only mortgages may appear similar, but it's important to understand the differences between each product. We've pulled out some of the key points below.
| Our Lifetime Mortgages | Our Retirement Interest Only Mortgage | |
| Age | 55+ | 55+ |
| Minimum loan amount | £10,000 | £10,000 |
| Maximum loan amount | Determined by your client's age and property value | Up to 60% of the value of your client's home, subject to an affordability assessment |
| Minimum property value considered | £70,000 or £100,000 for flats, maisonettes, ex council, ex housing association or ex Ministry of Defence properties. | £70,000 or £100,000 for flats, maisonettes, ex council, ex housing association or ex Ministry of Defence properties. |
| Is there an affordability assessment? | No | Yes |
| Is the loan secured against your client's home? | Yes | Yes |
| When do I have to repay the full amount of the loan? | The loan is usually repaid when your client dies or move out of their home into long-term care. | The loan is usually repaid when your client dies or move out of their home into long-term care. |
| Do they have to pay interest every month? | No - interest is charged on the loan amount plus any interest already added, so the amount owed will increase quickly over time. However, they can choose to pay off some or all of the monthly interest to prevent this. | Yes - the interest due is payable in full by them each month. As a last resort, their home may be repossessed if they fail to keep up repayments. |
| Is the interest rate fixed? | Yes. The interest rate is fixed for the life of the loan. | Yes. The interest rate is fixed for the life of the loan. |
| Lifetime Mortgages | Retirement Interest Only Mortgage |
A mortgage may affect means-tested state benefits, your client's tax position and any future inheritance.
Events
At Legal & General, your development matters to us. We offer a series of CPD accredited events and workshops that support you in understanding the changing face of retirement.
Vulnerable customers
We've outlined some key signs of helping vulnerable customers when giving financial advice.
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