This agreement aligns to the launch of new innovative Defaqto 5 Star rated products by Key Group and will include both lump sum and drawdown. Branded Standard Life Home Finance, the products will be provided by Key Group and will use their platforms, ensuring the service and administration match the quality of the offering. This new range will enable advisers to help over-55 homeowners to unlock the assets they have built up in their property, without the need to move home. The new Standard Life Home Finance branded products aim to provide customers with more choice and flexibility to meet their changing financial needs in later life.
 
The range will gradually roll out to advisers from October this year when full product details will become available, with the aim of them being readily available to all advisers by the end of this year.
 
Phoenix Group, the largest long-term savings and retirement company in the UK, has been an active funder in the equity release market for the last five years. It has grown to be among the largest funders in the market and is a member of the Equity Release Council.
 
Commenting, Tom Ground, Managing Director Retirement Solutions, Standard Life said:
“We’re extremely pleased to be partnering with the specialists at Key Group who will launch a new range of Standard Life Home Finance branded equity release products to advisers. The money people have invested in their property should not be overlooked when it comes to financial planning, and alongside pensions savings, this new Lifetime Mortgage range will be a key part of people’s financial toolkit later in life.
 
“A growing number of people are retiring with mortgage debt and find themselves using their pension savings to pay off their mortgages. Lifetime mortgages provide them with more options and may help avoid worries about drawing out their pension savings too quickly. Standard Life has a rich heritage of helping people plan for their future, it is something we care deeply about, and it is important that people have flexibility and choice when it comes to their finances. We are delighted to be both branding and funding these Defaqto 5 Star rated products.”  
 
“We expect the equity release market to grow as more people understand how, with the help of advisers; they can unlock the value tied up in their homes in a way that works for them.”
 
In 2020, the equity release market totalled £3.89bn and some £1.17bn of property wealth was unlocked by over-55 homeowners in the second quarter of this year alone, according to the Equity Release Council. They also report that one in five (20%) people in their sixties are already using pension savings to pay off their mortgages, despite concerns over exhausting their pots too rapidly.
 
Simon Thompson, Group Chief Executive Officer at Key Group added:
“We are delighted to be using our more than 21-years of experience in this market to expand our partnership with Phoenix Group to offer the Standard Life Home Finance range of new products through our platforms. At Key Group, we are committed to growing the market and helping the increasing numbers of people who are turning to housing equity to support their retirement needs as well as their desire to help their families.