OneFamily Lifetime Mortgages joins Equity Release Council

The lender joins the ranks of Legal and General Home Finance which became a member of the council last year and Pure Retirement which joined in 2014. Other member firms are Aviva, Bridgewater, Hodge Lifetime, JRP Group, LV=, more 2 life, Retirement Advantage and Retirement Plus.

OneFamily’s lifetime mortgage arm is headed up by Georgina Smith, who was previously both chief executive and marketing director at Stonehaven. Also on board is Jon Tweed as sales director, who worked as sales director for Hodge Lifetime for over 14 years.

This year marks the 25^th anniversary of the Equity Release Council’s first industry standards for equity release, under the banner of Safe Home Income Plans (SHIP). Over 400 individual members and 150 member firms now make up the council, including providers, qualified financial advisers, solicitors, surveyors and other industry professionals.

Georgina Smith, managing director of OneFamily Lifetime Mortgages, said it had created its product range with the intention of extending consumer choice to help grow the market.

“We have introduced new and innovative features into the lifetime mortgage market, including the option of a variable interest rate. When we launched our intention to enter the lifetime mortgage market, we said that all of OneFamily’s plans would be underpinned by The Equity Release Council safeguards and be based on the highest ethical standards, as befits a mutual organisation,” she said.

“These products will complement OneFamily’s vision to enable families to work together to meet the financial demands of modern life.”

Nigel Waterson, chairman of the Equity Release Council, welcomed OneFamily’s addition to the market.

“The equity release sector is experiencing growing demand from consumers keen to consider all of their available assets as part of their later life financial planning. It is very encouraging to see the market respond with increasing choice and flexibilities, with research by Moneyfacts highlighting the growing range of products and options in recent years,” he added.