Expert equity release advice from Key

Key's expert equity release advisers are fully qualified to give you expert equity release advice and will help you find the most suitable lifetime mortgage product for your needs.

Do I need equity release advice?

If you're thinking of releasing some of the equity from your home, the first thing to understand is that it's a requirement of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that you get regulated advice to make sure your interests are protected. Getting expert advice is absolutely crucial to ensure you balance your current needs with your long-term plans before making a choice about whether to go ahead or not.

At Key, our bespoke service offers you two personalised appointments with one of our fully qualified equity release advisers. They’ll take the time to thoroughly understand your circumstances and needs, ensuring you’ve considered other borrowing options before making a recommendation. And if equity release isn’t right for you, we’ll tell you.

If you do decide equity release is right for you, we’ll do all the legwork. Your qualified adviser will help you find the right product from our range of lifetime mortgages, and you’ll be assigned a dedicated case handler who’ll take care of all the paperwork, so you don’t have to. We’ll support you every step of the way; from application to completion, always with your interests at heart.

And as our fixed advice fee of £599 is only payable on completion, you can find out if equity release is right for you by speaking with one of our expert advisers without it costing you a penny.

All our equity release advice relates to our range of Key-branded lifetime mortgage products only.

What could equity release advice cost?

Based on an average release amount of £113,237, a whole-of-market advice fee could cost you £2,253^. At Key, we could help you save more than £1,600 in advice fees, as our advice fee is fixed at £599, meaning you always know what you have to pay.

Do equity release advice fees change depending on how much equity is released?

With our Key-branded products, our equity release advice fee is fixed at £599. In contrast, some whole-of-market advisers will typically either charge you a minimum fee, or a percentage of the release amount - whichever is larger.

The more you release above the minimum threshold, the more you pay in advice fees, despite the advice process being the same. So make sure you check with your adviser what fees they’re going to charge you if you decide to seek advice from another company.

For example, using a minimum fee of £1,499 or 1.99% of the release amount, let's take a look at how the amount you borrow affects the fees you’ll have to pay for whole-of-market advice:

What do leading equity release advisers charge for their advice?

If you go ahead with an equity release plan, the advice fees that many equity release advisers charge varies from company to company. In the table below, you can see a comparison of advice fees charged by leading equity release specialists.

Advice fee information correct as of 5 January 2022.

Am I eligible for Key's expert equity release advice?

Tens of thousands of people are already enjoying the benefits of unlocking the tax-free cash
from their home. However, it’s not suitable for everyone, which is why it’s important to get
expert advice before you make a decision. You may be eligible for a lifetime mortgage if:

You’re a homeowner aged 55 and over
Your property is worth at least £70,000

To find out more about equity release and to see how much tax-free cash you could unlock from your home, use our Equity Release Calculator.

Does Key charge higher interest rates to cover fixed equity release advice fees?

No, none of our products are priced differently to account for the costs of our fixed equity release advice fees.

In 2019, we created and launched our own range of 70 lifetime mortgage plans using the unique insight we've gained from over 20 years' experience in equity release.

Our range of plans have been designed to meet most customers’ needs, with competitive annual interest rates as low as 2.78%* fixed for life, and features such as inheritance protection for your loved ones are available on some plans. We constantly monitor our competitors' prices to ensure we offer rates as good as, or in some cases better, on comparable products.

We’re confident that our range of products is competitive in the market for rates and features, and they could help you save more than £1,600 in advice fees.

And when you combine our low interest rates with your potential equity release advice saving, your total cost of borrowing could be lower when compared to a whole-of-market alternative.

Taking an average 70-year-old male customer with a house worth £320,418, we have compared the best available rates from across the market to the best of what Key can offer, and calculated the total cost of borrowing across a range of loan amounts. In each example, we have added a whole-of-market equity release advice fee (£1,499/1.99% of the release amount) to the initial loan, as many customers do this.

The results of the comparison set out below shows that opting for one of our competitively priced Key-branded plans (saving on equity release advice costs) over the whole-of-market alternative, could reduce your total cost of borrowing.

* Rates correct as of 1 December 2021. Most Key Equity Release customers have received a fixed annual interest rate of 3.55% or lower. The overall cost for comparison is 3.72% APR. Interest rate received and plan features are subject to eligibility. Ask for a personal illustration.

Applying for equity release will involve fees which will add costs to the application process. Find out what the associated equity release costs are.

Find out what features our plans can offer

Read more about the features of Key's plans

Take me there

We believe that your experience of equity release should be personal and transparent with all the support you need from start to finish. Our commitments to you are:

Personal - Everything we do is tailored to you

All our expert equity release advice is unique to you and your circumstances. Your Key Equity Release adviser takes the time to understand your needs, ensuring they find and recommend the right solution for you. We’ll search the product range we have created, guided by 20 years’ experience and our unique insight from helping 1 million people decide if equity release is right for them, so you can be confident we’ll find a plan that suits you.

Transparent - Totally clear and honest. Always.

Whatever we do, we always have your interests at heart, ensuring you have considered other funding options such as downsizing or alternative forms of borrowing - and if equity release isn’t right for you, we’ll tell you. As Key’s five-star rating on Trustpilot will show you, we’re the most trusted equity release broker in the UK, with an excellent rating from over 16,000 customer reviews.

Supportive - Helping you make the right decision with no pressure

We believe equity release is a personal journey and a decision that’s sometimes difficult to make. With Key Equity Release there’s no pressure to go ahead. Your adviser will give you all the information you need about equity release for you to make an informed decision in your own time. If you do decide to go ahead then all the paperwork and admin will be handled by a dedicated member of our team.

In a nutshell, our fully qualified advisers offer expert, personalised and transparent advice so you can make the right decision about equity release.

Use our free online equity release calculator and find out how much equity you could release from your home and how much you could save on advice costs

Things to consider

You have to get advice before releasing tax-free cash from your home - please read all our information and make sure it’s right for you
Key Equity Release offer lifetime mortgages only, which is a loan secured against your home. It will reduce the value of your estate and may affect your entitlement to means-tested benefits
All of our plans meet the Equity Release Council standards and come with several protections, including the no negative equity guarantee, which means you’ll never owe more than your home’s value
Unless you decide to go ahead with a plan, our service is completely free of charge, as our fixed advice fee of £599 is only payable on completion
There may be associated costs with equity release in the same way there are costs when you take out a regular mortgage, such as solicitors’ fees and a surveyor’s valuation - read more about associated costs

^ Equity Release Council Autumn Market Report 2021 - Average lump sum initial advance in H2 2020. Based on whole of market example advice fee of 1.99%.

Page last updated: Wednesday 05 January 2022