The guidance, which is aimed at providing homeowners with essential information to help plan their retirement following the pension reforms, will come into play in April next year.
Waterson (pictured) said: “The indication from the pensions minister that housing wealth will be among the assets considered within the new guidance guarantee is another significant milestone for the equity release industry.
“More importantly, it is a real boost for the 320,000 people who retire each year; many of whom are homeowners and will benefit from thinking at an early stage how their housing wealth could bring them financial security in retirement.
“More equity is already being released to serve a host of purposes, including consolidating debts and providing extra retirement income.”
Equity release lending hit its highest quarterly level for six years last month with a figure of £375.5m recorded for Q3 2014, the council’s statistics revealed.
Waterson said the £1bn plus of housing wealth unlocked in the first nine months of 2014 paled in comparison with the potential sums that over-55s had at their disposal.
“It is vital that the guidance guarantee conversations make people aware of each and every source of wealth they can call on in retirement so no-one is left to struggle needlessly,” he added.
