Independent consumer group Fairer Finance today publishes its ‘Retirement Compass: the Later Life Finance Index' at a Westminster briefing with industry and Lucy Rigby, Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister, warning that urgent action must be taken to ensure housing wealth becomes a recognised part of mainstream retirement planning to improve living standards in later life.
The Second Pensions Commission has underlined the urgency of the issue. Fifteen million people in the UK are under-saving for retirement – with one in 10 working age people on course to live their later life in poverty.
Fairer Finance's 2025 report that found 51% of households aged 60+ in 2040 might need to access their housing wealth to maintain their desired standard of living, unlocking £23bn each year and contribute £21bn each year in gross value added to our economy. Its initial findings from the 2026 Retirement Compass, published in June, found 65% of single female homeowners aged 55-79 face a retirement income below the Pensions UK2 moderate living standard, despite holding on average £225,000 in untapped housing wealth.
The new independent research from the consumer group, commissioned by the Equity Release Council, combines economic modelling, consumer research and data from all providers in the UK equity release sector, to provide the first comprehensive view on average loan sizes, ages of industry customers and breakdowns by region, gender and loan to value.
Single women emerge as a driving force in Britain's equity release market
The Second Pensions Commission3 reveals significant inequalities in retirement living standards; on average, women have 48% less pension wealth than men.
Fairer Finance found that single women accounted for 32% of new equity release plans in the second half of 2025, compared to 18% for single men, with the remainder going to couples. This means single women took out new plans at a higher rate than their 29% share of homeowner households aged 55-79 would predict.
Single women were also more likely to be aged 80 or over when taking out a new plan than single men or couples – a pattern Fairer Finance says reflects both women's longer life expectancy and the scale of the retirement income gap facing single female homeowners. While 11% of all new plan customers were aged 80+, 18% of single women taking out new plans were aged 80+.
Over six in 10 (65%) of single female homeowner households aged 55–79 will not meet the Pensions UK moderate living standard (£31,700 per year for singles), compared to four in 10 (44%) of single male households. This is despite both groups holding similar levels of housing wealth (£225,000 on average). 1.4 million single women aged 55-79 will not meet the Pensions UK moderate living standard despite being homeowners. Of this group, 200,000 single women live in homes worth at least £400k. A third (32%) of women aged 55-79 feel insecure about their family’s economic security in retirement, compared to 20% of men.
A widening regional gap in who explores their options
The Retirement Compass reveals sharp regional differences in how housing wealth is being used in the UK. Over one third of homeowners with low retirement income live in the South of England. Among homeowners with a retirement income shortfall, 72% of couples with £400,000+ in housing wealth live in the South of England – highlighting how much housing wealth is concentrated in a small part of the country.
Almost four in 10 (38%) of single female homeowners aged 55-79 with average retirement income below Pensions UK moderate live in the South of England, with a further 16% in the Midlands.
At the same time, homeowners in the North with a retirement income shortfall are markedly less likely to have engaged with their options than those in the South:
- 29% said they would be likely to explore downsizing their home, compared to 43% in the South and 36% in the Midlands.
- Only 11% said they would explore equity release, compared to 16% in the South and 13% in the Midlands
- Fewer had ever previously considered it (10%, compared to 17% in the South and 15% in the Midlands) – despite facing a similar-sized retirement income gap.
London is an outlier across almost every measure
Average property values on new equity release plans in London are 3.75 times higher than those in the North East. London customers were also more likely to take larger loans relative to their property value (20% of new plans in London had a loan-to-value above 40%, compared to 12-14% elsewhere), more likely to be aged 80 or over (20%, compared to as little as 6% in Yorkshire and the Humber), and more likely to be single women (39% of new customers in London, compared to 28-33% elsewhere).
Care costs among the top reasons people would tap their housing wealth
The research also sheds new light on what people would use their housing wealth for, if they did access it. A quarter (25%) of homeowners aged 55-79 said they would be interested in using money from their property to pay for care at home – one of the two most common financial needs identified, level with boosting pension income and savings (24%). Paying for care at home and boosting pension income were the top two ranked choices in the South, Midlands and North of England.
A further 16% of Britons would use it to pay for home adaptations such as a stair lift or walk-in shower, and another 16% would use it to pay for care home fees.
The findings point to a generational shift in how people think about equity release. Fairer Finance identified four distinct consumer personas among homeowners facing a retirement income shortfall. The largest group – 35% of the total, and the youngest on average at 60 – are "Working Pragmatists": people who are still working, worried about their retirement finances, and who believe people like them will end up using equity release, but who haven't yet considered it themselves. Paying for care support at home – rather than moving into a care home – is among their top reasons for considering it. This challenges the traditional image of equity release as a product for very elderly homeowners.
James Daley, Managing Director of independent consumer group Fairer Finance, said: "While a growing number of people are approaching retirement without enough pension savings, many of them are sitting on housing wealth that could unlock a better retirement. Single women in particular often have the biggest income gap in retirement – but our data shows that on average, they have no less housing wealth than single male households.
“But there remain both structural and behavioural barriers that are preventing more people taking advantage of this store of wealth. We’re urging Government to work together with its regulators, and the Money & Pensions Service to bring down these barriers so that more people can unlock their housing wealth by downsizing or borrowing against it.”
Jim Boyd, Chief Executive, Equity Release Council, the representative trade body for the UK equity release market, said: "Fairer Finance’s important report demonstrates that the UK’s retirement funding landscape is undergoing rapid change. The report shows it is no longer sustainable to plan for later life through the narrow lens of traditional pensions; and it is simply not true to claim that people with poor pensions wealth also lack other assets and resources to provide a better quality of life in retirement.
“The report highlights that many people in the South, Midlands and North of England are actively considering using their important asset to pay for care or boost pensions income. For many, their home is their most significant financial asset, and incorporating housing wealth into the mainstream planning process can mean the difference between merely getting by and enjoying a genuinely secure, comfortable retirement.
“It is now time for policymakers to catch up with the pressing needs of people who are being failed by having inadequate pensions savings. However, unlocking this potential safely requires breaking down traditional advice silos and guaranteeing access to exceptional high-quality professional advice. The Equity Release Council is committed to leading a consumer-focused market. By embedding rigorous product protections, promoting strict standards of best practice, and ensuring customers receive fully informed advice that prioritises individual outcomes, we can give homeowners the absolute confidence they need to make flexible, secure choices tailored specifically to their circumstances.”
Policy recommendations
Fairer Finance says the findings show why Government, regulators and industry need to act now, not simply monitor the issue, to ensure housing wealth is treated as a mainstream part of retirement planning alongside pensions. The research renews Fairer Finance's five recommendations from its 2025 report, calling on Government and regulators to:
- Substantially increase the supply of suitable, desirable retirement properties in the communities where older people wish to live.
- Lower the financial cost of downsizing by reducing stamp duty for people in later life.
- Normalise the use of housing wealth to maintain living standards in retirement.
- Develop a personalised service that brings pension and housing wealth into a single view.
- Reform FCA regulation around later life advice to break down silos and ensure consumers can maximise all their assets as they approach retirement. Since our 2025 report, the FCA launched a market study into later life mortgages. We’re calling on the FCA to follow-through on this and break down the silos.
