Meeting the financial needs of older people is one of the most significant challenges the industry acknowledges that it needs to embrace. With an ageing population, changing customer aspirations and long term care cost considerations, solving that challenge is only going to become more crucial in the future.
The Later Life Lending Event: a forum bringing together the key providers of later life lending solutions including high street banks, building societies and specialist equity release providers – and advisers, both those already offering advice in the sector and those keen to get involved.
The event features presentations showcasing the latest thinking in providing lifetime credit options and appropriate and comprehensive advice, along with panel discussions, offering delegates plenty of opportunities to debate and exchange ideas to consider the opportunities and challenges from the consumer, lender and adviser perspectives.
The Later Life Lending Event 2026 will be taking place on Wednesday 4th February at Hilton Bankside, London.
Please email david.adjei@ae3media.co.uk if you are interested in attending our 2026 event.
Aviva
Website
Aviva is one of the UK’s largest protection providers and has around 19.2 million customers across its core markets of the UK, Ireland and Canada. It has been helping customers for over 325 years and has over four million protection customers.
Aviva’s heritage, flexible product range and claims record all combine to help it live and breathe its purpose and be there for protection customers when they need it most.
Claims are the heart of Aviva’s business and in 2024 it was proud to pay out 97.9% of all individual protection claims registered. That’s £1.33bn, equating to an average of just over £3.6m every day.
But it’s more than just a financial payout; it’s about being there for customers when they need it most. From access to health and wellbeing support, specialist partners such as Macmillan Cancer Support or Grief Encounter, to legal services via Red Apple Law.
Flexible protection to meet your clients’ needs. It takes Aviva to Make it Click!
e.surv Chartered Surveyors
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e.surv Chartered Surveyors is a leading UK provider of residential property surveying, valuation and risk services, with over 35 years of experience.
Working with many of the UK’s major mortgage lenders and offering a full range of RICS‑accredited survey reports, e.surv helps homebuyers make informed decisions.
With a nationwide network of more than 600 RICS‑registered surveyors and a continued focus on innovation, e.surv completes a valuation approximately every 25 seconds.
Part of LSL Property Services, e.surv is committed to delivering accurate, timely and trusted property advice. Its nationwide reach and long‑standing, award‑winning expertise ensure it meets the needs of customers in a fast‑changing UK property market.
Family Building Society
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Family Building Society doesn’t believe in a ‘one size fits all’ approach to lending and will work with you to find mortgage solutions for your clients regardless of their circumstances.
It’s focused on delivering innovative and flexible products to meet the needs of the modern family across all generations and individuals not well served by the mass market.
Why choose Family Building Society?
It provides solutions for a wide range of customers
Lending into retirement
Guru Growth Solutions
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Hodge
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For more than 50 years, Hodge has helped its customers achieve their financial goals with the skills and knowledge to ensure it creates products and processes for the moments that matter.
Over the years it has created specialist mortgage products to support borrowers who don’t fit the mould. It has used its experience to grow its product offering to better serve brokers and customers alike.
Whether it’s with their personal mortgage, savings, or as a commercial client, Hodge supports thousands of customers across the UK.
Hodge’s commercial clients can expect tailored solutions to suit their needs, whether that’s for development finance, residential and commercial investment or bridging options. While Hodge’s savings team works hard to support customers who want to future-proof their finances.
Hodge is 79% owned by the Hodge Foundation, a charity supporting welfare, medical and academic endeavours.
L&G Home Finance
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L&G Mortgage Club is the largest and longest-running mortgage club in the UK and is involved in nearly one in four of all mortgages in the UK, and nearly one in three of all intermediated mortgages.
Now in its 30th year, it has completed over £1.1tn of mortgages since 1995. It prides itself on providing value to members, always working closely with new and existing partners to deliver great products, pricing and services.
Lenvi
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Lenvi specialises in B2B consumer and commercial lending software that combines insight-powered technology with data-driven services. With over 30 years of market experience and global expertise, it help lenders build powerful, agile and responsible lending journeys.
Its flagship loan management platform, Lenvi PF1, is a fully integrated, Fitch-rated mortgage system designed to scale, adapt and support the entire lending lifecycle. Award-winning and trusted across the industry, its technology delivers reliable, end-to-end solutions that streamline operations, drive efficiency and ensure compliance
more2life
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More2life is a leading later life lender, dedicated to helping advisers unlock more choice for their clients.
Since 2005, it has focused exclusively on later life lending, designing the widest range of lifetime mortgages in the market.
Its purpose is simple: to make more later life lending happen, empowering advisers to help clients achieve their goals and build a brighter financial future.
Everything it does is driven by the needs of advisers and their customers. From developing innovative products that respond to changing client circumstances, to investing in market-leading technology that supports quicker, smoother case progression, More2life is committed to helping advisers make more of the opportunities in later life lending.
It’s agile in responding to market change, committed to the long term, and customer-focused in everything it does. The business takes pride in doing the right thing, building strong and trusted relationships, and bringing a professional, pioneering mindset to the challenges advisers face.
Supported by a dedicated team of later life specialists, more2life is here to provide the choice, tools and support advisers need, today and for the future.
Because there’s more to life.
Phoebus Software
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Building societies, banks, specialist lenders and third-party servicers use Phoebus to service over £120 billion of mortgage and savings assets in the UK and Ireland.
For over 30 years, Phoebus has been trusted to deliver automated servicing solutions to over 25 clients in the UK and Ireland. Its approach is to create a true working partnership with clients which drives measurable results and ROI.
The ability to service many different product types on the Phoebus servicing solution is recognised as a key strength. Multi-tenancy capability allows different brands to be serviced in accordance with different SLAs.
Phoebus manages even the most complex servicing needs and is widely recognised as the market’s most robust and accurate servicing platform. The Phoebus API ecosystem integrates customers to their accounts via mobile and web application and also integrates Phoebus with any internal or external applications required as part of an implementation.
If you’re seeking to digitise your operations and customer experience whilst driving impressive efficiencies through automation, Phoebus should be your partner of choice.
Royal London Equity Release
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Royal London is the UK’s largest mutual life, pensions and investment company, offering protection, long-term savings and asset management products and services. As a proud modern mutual, it is able to take a longer-term view. It can focus on delivering positive, enduring change on behalf of members, customers and their families, helping to protect the standard of living for this and future generations.
Suffolk Building Society
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Suffolk has been writing mortgages since 1849, although its flexible approach and can-do attitude to lending mean it seems younger than 175.
It’s manual where it counts (underwriting), but it knows that time is money, so it is continually working on its intermediary journey.
Later life proposition
– No max age at the end of term
– Up to 80% LTV
– Utilisation of assets and pensions for affordability (even if not currently drawing an income)
– Repayment, part and part or interest-only available
– Underpins expat, self-build and intergenerational propositions
– Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor.
The Equity Release Network (TERN)
Website
TERN is a specialist adviser network built exclusively for the later life lending market. Designed for experienced and newly qualified equity release advisers, it combines whole of market independence, powerful technology and market leading commissions. Its advisers are supported by unique technology and tools that enable sustainable growth while helping them advise with confidence in a highly regulated later life market.
10:05 – 10:25
The changing face of finance – understanding the later life market economy
Tim Hogg, director, Fairer Finance
10:25 – 11:05
Walk the line – advisers, customer journeys and consumer outcomes
Darren Deacon, head of intermediary sales, Family Building Society
Manjit Kaur, senior later life lending adviser, The Mortgage Mum
Stuart Powell, managing director, Advice Guru
Moderated by: Steve Humphries, proposition director – mortgages, Mortgage Advice Bureau
11:05 – 11:35
Shaping the future – insights from the FCA
This panel brings together the FCA and leading industry representatives to discuss the future of the later life lending market. It will examine how evolving regulatory priorities are influencing innovation in areas such as higher LTV lending, hybrid mortgage models, and flexible solutions for older borrowers. The discussion will focus on the FCA’s assessment of whether existing frameworks support good consumer outcomes and how lenders and advisers can adapt to serve ageing borrowers while maintaining safeguards around affordability, vulnerability, and transparency.
Stephanie Charman, chief executive, The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI)
Claire Whyte, technical specialist – mortgage policy team, Financial Conduct Authority
Moderated by: Kelly Melville-Kelly, deputy CEO and director of risk, policy and compliance, Equity Release Council
12:05 – 12:50
Lightning sessions: lender insights and innovation in the later life market
This series of lightning sessions explores the evolving financial realities of retirement and the solutions shaping later life lending. Lenders will share their insights into how the market is responding to changing customer needs and delivering support to help retirees achieve financial security and flexibility.
12:05 – 12:20
Rooted in retirement report
Neil Uttley, strategic account manager – retirement, Aviva
12:20 – 12:35
Living legacy – equity release for intergenerational wealth and IHT planning
Robert Betts, corporate and estate planning specialist, Royal London
12:35 – 12:50
From niche to norm – time to take action
Charlotte Allen, chief compliance and risk officer, more2life
12:50 – 13:30
Unlocking efficiency – legal pathways and the role of solicitors in later life lending
A bottleneck that exists in later life lending is the reliance on a single solicitor firm for all lenders, causing delays for advisers and clients. This panel will explore whether expanding solicitor options or adopting dual representation – where one solicitor acts for both lender and borrower – can speed up completions. With input from lenders, advisers and legal experts, the discussion will focus on practical solutions to streamline the legal process while ensuring compliance and protecting customer.
Carol Nuttall, director, Adlington Law
Paul Saroya, director, Viva Retirement Solutions
Matthew Taylor, business development director, Equilaw
Stuart Wilson, managing director, Maverix Consultants
Moderated by: David Forsdyke, partner – head of later life finance, Knight Frank Finance
Charlotte brings nearly 20 years’ experience in compliance and risk and most recently served as Chief Compliance & Risk Officer at the UK’s largest credit management services provider, Cabot Credit Management and Wescot Credit Services.
Previously, she worked at Deloitte and began her career at Barclays before joining the Intertrust Group. At more2life, Charlotte focuses on overseeing the Group’s Risk Management Framework to ensure it is aligned with strategic objectives, while also driving effective risk management and supporting regulatory compliance.
Robert has over 30 years’ experience in financial services, specialising in mortgage and protection advice, as well as business, wealth and estate planning. He has held roles in sales, sales management, adviser development, training and proposition development and has been an industry speaker for more than 20 years.
He is currently leading growth and adviser education within Royal London’s Corporate and Estate Planning function, helping to enhance both the breadth and depth of client advice.
Stephanie joined the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) as chief executive in February 2025, having held previous roles within key distributors spanning 27 years.
Most recently, she was group partnerships & propositions director at Sesame Bankhall Group and previously director of mortgages at specialist distributor Positive Lending, and head of mortgages & insurance at Mortgage Intelligence.
Throughout her career working across the intermediary sector, Stephanie has been a passionate promoter of the need for, and value of, advice.
Darren Deacon joined Family Building Society in 2017 as a business development manager covering the Midlands and was promoted to head of intermediary sales in 2022. He has over 36 years of financial services experience and has worked for both high street and specialist lenders. Deacon has worked as an underwriter, mortgage adviser and, latterly, within mortgage business development, and now leads a team of nine BDMs. In his current role, he uses his extensive experience and knowledge of the mortgage market to deliver lending solutions for the older borrower. Deacon is a firm believer in providing excellent customer service and thinks it is the best, and perhaps the only, way to build lasting business relationships.
David is regarded as an expert in the Later Life Lending market. He has focused on this area since 2005. His knowledge and experience is well rounded, having spent 6 years from 2009 with the Financial Conduct Authority as a subject matter expert, followed by 2 years as Head of Compliance for Retirement Advantage (Now Canada Life Home Finance). David has also spent many years supporting the Equity Release Council, including 2 years as a member of their Standards Board. He now sits on their Risk Committee and one of their Expert Working Groups. David joined Knight Frank Finance in the spring of 2019 to form the Later Life Finance team, bringing his expertise and advice to older High Net Worth homeowners. David is passionate about his chosen market, regularly speaking at industry events, writing articles and providing comment and insight to the press.
Tim Hogg is a behavioural economist with over 10 years experience in advising the public and private sectors on how to design and implement regulation. Tim has led economic research into the potential need for later life lending to maintain living standards and has advised several firms on the design of their later life lending products and journeys.
With an extensive sales development background, Steve originally joined MAB as Regional Sales Director in 2015, before taking on the role of Proposition Director for Later Life and Wealth. As a specialist in equity release and later life lending, Steve’s latest appointment as Proposition Director – Mortgages will ensure that MAB and its advisers can help more aspiring first-time buyers and that customers with more specialist lending needs can get on the property ladder.
Manjit has worked in the financial services industry for the last 20 years since graduating from university, working as a Business Manager, Bank Manager and then getting qualified for mortgage and protection advice.
Manjit likes to keep the mortgage process simple, easy to understand and is alongside clients at every step of the journey to owning their own home. Manjit is passionate about helping homeowners and new buyers secure a mortgage that suits their needs.
Manjit and The Mortgage Mum are on the Equity Release Council register, helping clients over the age of 55 access the equity in their homes. They can discuss what is available and how they can help them by releasing equity tied up in homes. Manjit has helped many clients find the right solution for their finances.
Kelly brings over 20 years of financial services expertise, working with both lenders and networks in later-life lending, helping to drive improvements and create best practice. Kelly has previously held regulated positions at Alliance & Leicester and Legal & General.
Carol is the founder and head of Adlington Law, forming one half of the husband-and-wife team leading the firm forward.
With a strong background in litigation, Carol took the decision to retrain and develop her skills in both private client and property law. This ultimately led to the creation of Adlington Law, a firm that combines the best of traditional family law values with a forward-thinking approach to technology, delivering an efficient yet personable service to all clients.
Carol is also a member of the Equity Release Council and is committed to promoting the values of the industry while supporting the continued development of the equity release sector. She is particularly focused on protecting clients’ interests and ensuring that vulnerable clients are supported and advised with the care and respect they deserve. Carol firmly believes that every client should be treated as we would treat our own loved ones and has therefore fostered a culture within the firm centered on treating others as you would wish to be treated.
Stuart Powell is the Founder and Managing Direct of Advice Guru. Advice Guru is an award-winning company which focuses on the education, empowerment and support of consumers and advisers in the Later Life Lending industry. As Founder and Managing Director of Advice Guru, Stuart has grown a reputation for finding innovative ways to ensure that the reputation of the Later Life Lending industry grows and supporting consumers and advisers seeking answers to their questions. Stuart also founded and runs two Later Life Lending Facebook groups, one for consumers and one for industry professionals which have been running for over three years and have over 1,000 members. These members support each other to find the best solution to any questions posed. The latest aspect of Advice Guru, launched in late 2024, is a website-based service that educates consumers, and links them to the best Advisor for their needs.
Paul has worked in the Financial Advice industry for 27 years, and started his career with Aviva, where he become a top adviser, before managing top performing teams in the direct and corporate offerings that Aviva had. This gave Paul grounding to branch out into the whole of market advice world.
Paul set up Viva Retirement Solutions along with fellow Director Mark Lambert in 2013. Viva has grown from 2 to 19 advisers in that time and has built a strong reputation for giving best advice and service, whilst also influencing change to continually improve industry standards.
One example of this is being the originator of the newest Equity Release Council Standard – making it mandatory for all lenders to allow clients to make voluntary repayments on their plans. Viva Retirement have been recognised numerous times within its own industry, as well as being recognised as best in market from the wider industry too. Paul strives to raise the bar in whatever he does.
Matt is the Business Development Director at Equilaw and has worked in the industry since 2016. Before joining Equilaw, he spent the majority of his career within the regulated financial services sector. Matt leads the Business Development team and is responsible for developing and promoting the Equilaw brand across the later life lending market.
Having worked exclusively in sales-led environments, Matt has a strong understanding of the complex requirements faced by advisers and clients, and he enjoys finding effective solutions to unique challenges. With in-depth knowledge of later life lending products and the associated regulatory landscape, Matt focuses on aligning commercial objectives with robust legal frameworks to support the evolving needs of the market.
Neil Uttley is a highly experienced Strategic Account Manager within Aviva’s Retirement business, having built a career with the company spanning more than 25 years. Since joining Aviva in 1998, Neil has held a variety of roles across the distribution landscape, giving him deep insight into adviser needs, customer outcomes and the evolving later-life market.
In his current role, Neil manages several of Aviva’s most important strategic partnerships across later-life lending and retirement income. He works closely with adviser firms and distributors to support commercial growth, strengthen long-term collaboration and enhance the delivery of retirement solutions that meet the needs of customers and intermediaries alike.
Neil’s experience covers key areas including equity release, annuities and retirement planning, enabling him to bring a broad and balanced perspective to market conversations. He is committed to helping partners navigate regulatory change, product development and customer vulnerability, ensuring good outcomes remain central to every interaction.
Neil is recognised for his collaborative approach, clear communication and passion for supporting advisers in delivering high-quality advice in the later-life sector.
Claire Whyte is a Technical Specialist in the Mortgage Policy Team within the FCA’s Retail Banking Directorate. She works primarily on the FCA’s Mortgage Rule Review and leads the programme to enhance later life lending. Claire joined the FCA in 2025, having previously spent 15 years in the Retail Legal team of a major lender. She has extensive expertise in conduct regulation and is particularly focused on improving consumer outcomes across the mortgage market, drawing on her experience in product governance, customer understanding and fair value.
Stuart is the Managing Director of Maverix Consultants. He is an accomplished Senior Executive, Entrepreneur, Public Speaker, Former CEO & Chairman.
Sturt is passionate about the Later Life Lending market and is a founding member of the AMI Equity Release Working Group, an original member of the competency framework group and a regular attendee at the ‘meeting of minds’ group.
Stuart has also been an industry judge on numerous judging panels and is himself the winner of multiple financial services awards, including “Lifetime Achievement Award” and “Lifetime Contribution award” in 2022.
