The charity said that an increasing number of its older clients have released equity from their property in the last year as a way of clearing what they owe.
CCCS found that homeowners aged over 55-years-old who contacted it for help last year owed an average of £29,772 on credit cards, personal loans and other unsecured debts.
CCCS equity release manager Tom Moloney said: “Many clients are rightly cautious when considering equity release, but with the right advice and guidance this is an attractive solution for some, especially for those who wish to resolve their debt problems without moving home.”
Meanwhile, Paradigm Mortgage Services has urged advisers to fully consider equity release when looking at the needs of clients in or at retirement.
It said it is concerned that customers who may be suitable for equity release are not being catered for due to a lack of specialist knowledge within firms.
Bob Hunt, chief executive of Paradigm Mortgage Services, said: “We believe equity release will play a more important role in retirement living and therefore advisers across the country need to be prepared to see more clients for whom these products are suitable.”
Hunt added that as the sector requires specialist knowledge, those firms who do not have the necessary skills should either move quickly to secure them or make sure they are introducing clients to those that do.
“It’s also important that we recognise this is a two-product sector, covering not just lifetime mortgages but home reversions as well; it seems somehow wrong that advisers can still call themselves specialists in equity release when they are only offering advice on lifetime mortgages. Advisers need to give full consideration of the entire product range in order to provide their clients with a quality equity release advice service.”
