The new LV= Lump Sum Lifestyle and Drawdown Lifestyle products are to be made available from 7 November, and they are to offer more flexibility for customers who are considering equity release to support their financial plans.
There will be additional features such as inheritance protection and competitive early repayment charges (ERCs).
The move comes after the LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Research Programme found that a quarter of people surveyed said they would find fixed ERCs reassuring as an equity release feature. Also 24 per cent said they would find inheritance protection a supportive aspect of the new products.
The protection option is to be included as a standard part of a LV= Lifestyle lifetime mortgages package. As a result, people can ringfence part of their property value to pass down to loved ones in the future.
For customers who wish to reduce their mortgage balance, the lifestyle products allow customers to make optional repayments up to 11 per cent of loans advanced for each of the first eight years, within a fixed early repayment structure. After the eight year period has elapsed, there are no ERCs charged on any repayments.
The partnership with Scottish Widows is part of a wider strategy to offer more options to equity release advisers, and grow LV’s presence in the equity release market.
More flexibility for LV= customers
LV= chief executive David Hynam said: “Our new Lifestyle range of LV= equity release products are designed to offer more flexibility to customers who wish to unlock their property wealth, helping to support financial choice and confidence in later life. Consumer Duty requirements have made it more important than ever to ensure that advisers can access the right products suitable for their client’s individual needs and lifestyles.”
“We are thrilled to support a wider offering to customers by bringing this new product range to the market. We’re delighted to have Scottish Widows support us as a new equity release funder, which is a significant enabler to increase our presence in the market. LV= and Scottish Widows share a commitment to the equity release market and a desire to ensure customers can have continued trust and confidence in the sector.”
Emma Watkins, managing director of retirement and longstanding at Scottish Widows, said: “We look forward to being a funding partner for LV= as its expanding range of later life mortgages complements our ambition to source high quality assets, supporting the growth of our annuities business.”
