I borrowed to help make ends meet

FORMER betting shop owner Mike Barnes, 65, took out an equity release mortgage earlier this year when he was struggling with his bills.

‘The interest rates on my savings used to be quite good and I expected that to continue, but they’ve been so low for so long and my pensions didn’t perform as expected,’ says

Mike, who lives near Blackpool in Lancashire.

‘I’ve been living off savings and selling some shares as well as doing various jobs to make ends meet, but I could see my capital diminishing.’

Mike noticed things getting much tighter, and decided to go for equity release.

‘I’ve got a five-bedroom detached home with no mortgage and four grown-up children, so the main asset I have is my house,’ he says.

Age Partnership valued the home at £300,000 and Mike took out a £90,000 equity release mortgage, drawing down an initial £25,000.

Keen golf fan Mike plans to downsize later and could pay off the loan then or move it to a new property, depending on what’s best for him financially.

‘I was aware I wasn’t making enough provision for the future, but knew that this option was always there. I would have struggled otherwise,’ he adds.