A lifetime mortgage is a way of releasing a lump sum from the equity in your home, usually between £10,000 – £100,000. They work by securing a loan against your property. The loan and any interest is repaid when your home is sold, so you do not have to make any monthly repayments. How much you can borrow depends on your age and the value of your home.

Please note companies are ranked in no particular order and data comes from each company’s website and was last updated in March 2023.

COMPANY NAME	MINIMUM AGE	MINIMUM PROPERTY VALUE
Aviva	55	£75,000
Hodge Lifetime	55	£100,000
More 2 Life	55	not stated
Legal & General	55	£100,000
LV	not stated	not stated
Just	55	£70,000
Canada Life	55	not stated
Retirement Bridge	60	£100,000
Nationwide	55	not stated
Responsible Lending	55	not stated
OneFamily	55	£70,000
Retirement Plus	65	not stated
Pure Retirement	60	not stated

1. Aviva

• The UK’s largest insurance company with over 15 million customers
• Lump sum or smaller sum equity release options
• Lifestyle Lump Sum Max lets you borrow a one-off cash sum from £15,000
• Lifestyle Flexible Option lets you borrow an initial lump sum from £10,000
• Pension annuity schemes also available
• Award winning services: Personal Finance Awards & What Mortgage
• Member of the Equity Release Council
• Mixed online reviews

Website: Aviva
Read the full Aviva lifetime mortgage review.

2. Canada Life

• Lifetime Annuities and Pension Schemes available
• CanRetire Fixed Term Income Plan lets you create a guaranteed lifetime income
• A large portfolio of retirement and investment products also available
• Useful online support tools and jargon-busting FAQs
• Award winning services
• Rated AA for Financial Strength
• Fairly negative online reviews

Website: Canada Life
Read the full Canada Life lifetime mortgage review.

3. Hodge Lifetime

• One of the longest established equity release providers in the UK
• Lumpsum Lifetime Mortgage provides a tax free lump sum
• Flexible Lifetime Mortgage provides an initial tax free cash lump sum and an option to make further cash withdrawals
• Home Reversion Plan offers market-value rates
• Hodge Lifetime Retirement Mortgage provides a tax-free lump sum
• Over 55s Mortgages and Pension Annuities also available
• Award winning services
• Clean, easy-to-navigate website which readily lists pros and cons
• No customer reviews available

Website: Hodge Lifetime
Read the full Hodge Lifetime lifetime mortgage review.

4. Just

• Lump Sum Lifetime Mortgage provides a tax free lump sum
• Interest Serviced Lifetime Mortgage operates like a drawdown lifetime mortgage
• Home Reversion Plan allows you to sell all or part of your home in return for a tax-free cash lump sum or regular income
• A range of other financial services also available
• Simple plain English website with a helpful jargon buster
• Useful online calculators available
• Online customer reviews tend to be quite negative

Website: Just
Read the full Just lifetime mortgage review.

5. Legal & General

• One of Europe’s largest insurance and asset management groups
• Fixed Term Retirement Plan lets you use your pension pot to buy a guaranteed income
• Pension Annuity also offers a guaranteed income for life
• Cash-Out Retirement Plan lets you use your pension pot to get regular income payments
• Various Lifetime Mortgage products available
• A large range of related services also available including investments opportunities and ISAs, pension schemes, life cover and insurance
• Online customer reviews tend to be quite negative

Website: Legal & General
Read the full Legal & General lifetime mortgage review.

6. LV

• A company with longevity and a rich 175 year history
• Lifetime Mortgage Lump Sum+ releases equity
• Flexible Lifetime Mortgage releases some equity now with an option for more later
• A large range of related services including insurance, bonds, ISAs and investments, income protection and investment opportunities
• Winner of Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts Awards
• A clear, well laid-out website
• Good customer reviews; straightforward process

Website: LV
Read the full LV lifetime mortgage review.

7. More 2 Life

• Launched in 2008 as specialists in later life lending
• Flexi Lifetime Mortgage offers loans up to £1.85m
• Capital Lifetime Mortgage offers loans up to £1.5m
• Tailored Lifetime Mortgage offers loans up to £600,000
• Maximum Lifetime Mortgage offers loans up to £750,000
• Prime Lifetime Mortgage offers loans up to £600,000
• Fastpath online portal speeds up the administration process
• Useful online tools and calculators
• Multiple award winner including What Mortgage Awards, Financial Adviser Awards and Moneyfacts awards
• Favourable online customer reviews

Website: More 2 Life
Read the full More 2 Life lifetime mortgage review.

8. Nationwide Building Society

• The seventh largest cooperative financial institution and the largest building society in the world
• Lifetime Mortgage provides a tax free lump sum
• Retirement Interest Only (RIO) and Retirement Capital & Interest (RCI) products
• A range of complementary products including Savings and ISAs, Current Accounts, Personal Loans and Investments
• Poor online customer reviews
• No helpful online calculators or support tools

Website: Nationwide Building Society
Read the full Nationwide Building Society lifetime mortgage review.

9. OneFamily

• A mutual organisation owned by, and run for the benefit of, its members
• A large range of related services including Lifetime ISAs, Junior ISAs, Ethical Equity ISAs, Over 50s Life Cover, Child Trust Funds and Bonds
• Various useful online tools available
• Rated five stars for Over 50s Life Cover by Defaqto
• Award winning products
• Decent online customer reviews, praised in particular for its simple, straightforward processes

Website: OneFamily
Read the full OneFamily lifetime mortgage review.

10. Pure Retirement

• Pure Retirement Plan allow you to access equity and turn it into cash
• A quick process which is usually completed within 8 weeks
• Award winning products and services
• Website is easy to navigate and understand, written in plain English
• A narrow product range
• No online reviews or customer feedback

Website: Pure Retirement
Read the full Pure Retirement lifetime mortgage review.

11. Responsible Lending

• Partnered with global investment bank Credit Suisse, one of the largest investment banks in the world
• Lump Sum Lifetime Mortgage provides a one-off lump sum
• Drawdown Lifetime Mortgage provides an initial lump sum now, with the option to take extra amounts in the future
• A clear, easy to understand website with helpful safeguarding information
• Dedicated advisers will create personalised illustrations to facilitate product understanding
• A narrow product range
• No online reviews or customer feedback

Website: Responsible Lending
Read the full Responsible Lending lifetime mortgage review.

12. Retirement Bridge

• The UK’s biggest administrator of Home Reversion Plans
• Home Reversion Plan – No Rent – allows you to sell between 25-100% of your property for a cash lump sum
• Home Reversion Plan – Fixed Rent – similar but with fixed monthly rent payments
• Home Reversion Plan – Escalating Rent – similar but with monthly rent payments which will increase at 2.5% per annum compound
• A simple, clean website easy to navigate with a useful online calculator
• Advisor Portal designed to help customers
• Winner of Best Home Reversion Provider award
• A narrow product range
• No online reviews or customer feedback

Website: Retirement Bridge
Read the full Retirement Bridge lifetime mortgage review.

13. Retirement Plus

• Retirement Plus Property Plan lets you sell all or part of your property at less than its market value in return for a tax-free lump sum, a regular income
• For over 65s only
• As a long-standing member of the Equity Release Council
• A fairly basic website with little product information
• No online reviews or customer feedback
• The company is not taking on any new customers at present due to allocated funds being exhausted

Website: Retirement Plus
Read the full Retirement Plus lifetime mortgage review.

How does a lifetime mortgage work?

A lifetime mortgage is a way of releasing a lump sum from the equity in your home, usually between £10,000 – £100,000. They work by securing a loan against your property. The loan and any interest is repaid when your home is sold, so you do not have to make any monthly repayments. How much you can borrow depends on your age and the value of your home.

How does a lifetime mortgage cost?

With a lifetime mortgage there are no monthly payments. Interest rates on your lifetime mortgage will depend on different factors, such as which type of plan you choose and how long it runs for but usually the interest is added to the amount you owe each month, known as ‘compound interest’ or ‘rolled-up’ interest. This means that even if your interest rate is fixed, the amount you owe each year or month increases as your loan amount plus interest accumulates. Other costs could include legal fees and/or valuation fees, application fees, fees to the lender for the product, a completion fee and buildings insurance costs.

How much can I get?

The percentage of your property you can borrow against depends on your age; the older you are, the more you can borrow. At 65, you can normally borrow 25% to 30%. If you’re older, you can borrow as much as 50%. There are also minimum loan amounts – which can range from £10,000 to £45,000.

What happens when you die?

When you die, your equity release plan is repaid. Your beneficiaries must inform your equity release lender and with a lifetime mortgage they usually have 12 months after your death in which to repay your plan. This is usually through the sale of your property; however it can be by any financial means.

What are the risks and pitfalls of lifetime mortgages?

Interest compounded over many years adds up. A rate of 5.5%, for example, compounded annually on a £100,000 lump sum, would add interest costs over a ten-year period of around £71,000. That could mean there’s not much value left in your home to pass on to loved ones. This could be exacerbated further if house prices stagnate or fall. Early repayment penalties can be as high as 25% of the initial borrowing. This can make it very expensive to switch to a new, cheaper deal which leaves you a prisoner to your current provider. Extracting cash could mean that any means-tested benefits – spectacles, dentistry, council tax and pension credit – could be impacted and you could lose your entitlement to them. Also, this type of lending is ‘one and done’; no other loans can be taken using the property as security.