Are you overlooking your biggest financial asset?

FREE Daily Mail guide to unlocking the cash from your home

The income that people anticipate they’ll need after giving up their day job is £12,590 a year*. But in reality, with the state pension providing each retiree an income of just over £6,000 per year, many people are approaching retirement facing an income shortfall.

Financial worries in retirement

Maybe you are one of the one million retirees who still have a mortgage to pay off #, or worst still, have an interest-only mortgage which is due to end shortly and have no way of paying it off. You may have credit card debts or a loan still to clear. Have you thought about how you will meet these monthly repayments on what may already be a stretched pension income?

Meeting unforeseen expenses

With a portion of monthly income being used to service mortgage debt, this is leaving many little in the way of surplus funds with which to meet those costly expenses that inevitably arise, such as replacing a car, or paying for major household repairs. Furthermore, ambitions such as helping a younger relative onto the property ladder may be completely out of reach.

Your home could help

For millions of homeowners their biggest and most successful investment is their home, yet many don’t realise they could tap into its value and access tax-free cash. With the average value of a house in the UK more than tripling over the past 20 years**, the key to your financial security in retirement could lie in your bricks and mortar.

Access the cash in your home

Equity release is a way to unlock a tax-free cash lump sum from your home without having to move. The money released is yours to spend however you like – there are no restrictions. With a lifetime mortgage, interest rates are fixed for the life of the loan, and there are typically no monthly payments to make, allowing you to enjoy your retirement without having to worry about how to fund it. Equity release will reduce the value of your estate and may affect your entitlement to means-tested benefits.

Independent advice is important

There are many equity release plans on the market so it’s important to seek impartial expert advice. Mail Finance has partnered with Key Retirement, the UK’s No.1 independent equity release specialist. Take advantage of a free no-obligation consultation in the comfort of your own home. Your local adviser will get to know you and discuss any alternative options – if equity release is not right for you, they will tell you.