36 Skyline | Edition 8 | Winter 2025

Case study 1:

Resolving a maturing interest-only mortgage

“ She needed to repay £ 80k but didn’ t have the income to remortgage. Equity release provided the answer.”

Mrs Green, aged 68, faced the end of her interest-only mortgage term with an outstanding balance of £ 80,000. She had no repayment strategy in place and limited income in retirement.

Challenge: Due to her age and income constraints, she was unable to qualify for a traditional remortgage. Without a solution, she risked having to sell her home.

Carly Proudfoot

Account Relationship Manager Key Partnerships

Carly plays a key role at Key Partnerships in supporting advisers and intermediaries to develop referral partnerships that enhance their service for clients aged 55 +.

Solution: Her adviser referred the case to a trusted later life lending partner. An equity release plan was arranged, enabling Mrs Green to repay the mortgage in full and remain in her home – without the stress of monthly repayments.

The market is changing and advisers who want to future proof their businesses must adapt to the needs of older clients. The FCA’ s recent Mortgage Discussion Paper( 1) highlights a clear message: advisers must broaden their proposition to meet the evolving needs of an ageing population.

This all underscores the importance of shifting your focus. Advisers who expand their offering to include later life lending products can:

1 Better serve older clients with tailored solutions like Equity Release.

1 Drive stronger customer outcomes aligned with Consumer Duty expectations.

1 Enhance business performance by boosting income from existing relationships.

You may already have clients in your existing bank who would benefit from solutions outside your current offering. Expanding your advice permissions to serve them directly, however, can require significant time, investment in training, and added compliance responsibilities – all challenges that can place additional pressure on your business.

Fortunately, there’ s an alternative. By referring these cases to trusted external specialists, you can ensure your clients receive expert support while maintaining focus on your core services. All whilst the client remains yours, with the external specialist acting as an extension of your service, rather than a competitor.

COMMON CHALLENGES

To help illustrate when and why a referral might be the best solution, we’ ve outlined a few real-world scenarios. These case studies highlight common challenges advisers face with later life clients and explain how referring to a specialist can lead to positive outcomes for both the client and your business.