The Equity Release Council, in collaboration with Inclusive Outcomes, has published a review of approaches to vulnerability in later life lending on the members’ zone of the council’s website.
The council says the report recognises the strong foundations already in place while identifying opportunities for improvement.
These include strengthening the consistency of monitoring and evidencing customer outcomes, as well as adapting customer journeys to meet diverse customer needs.
The industry is also urged to enhance data sharing across the distribution chain to support joined-up outcomes and embed vulnerability concerns into product and service design, including testing and review.
Kelly Melville-Kelly (pictured), director of risk, policy and compliance at the Equity Release Council, said: “The sector has matured significantly in its approach to vulnerability, but the next phase must be about embedding consistency and driving continuous improvement.
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“We know that individuals and organisations want to do the right things, but at the moment, there is often a lack of practical, expert guidance to support complex interactions.
“Safe Steps, launching in November 2025, is designed to fill that gap and give advisers and lenders the tools to turn good intentions into confident, informed action.”
Safe Steps is a practitioner toolkit designed to embed vulnerability best practice across the distribution chain.
Recently, Charlotte Grimshaw, head of intermediary relations at Suffolk Building Society, shared her opinion about how the sector should aim to make holistic later life advice the rule, not the exception.
