Adult Children Support Aging Parents’ Equity Release

Written by Editorial Team
14 May 2007

Equity release is an effective way of supplementing inadequate pensions which is increasingly socially accepted, a Norwich Union spokesperson has said.

Although equity release used to be viewed as a last-ditch strategy which strands children without the assets contained in the family home after their parents’ death, it is now increasingly popular, Sarah Horner commented.

Older people should discuss their financial schemes into retirement planning and beyond with family members, she said.

Although children could be disappointed by the lack of an inheritance, the vast majority of younger people support their parents’ wish to have a comfortable retirement, she added.

“Nine times out of ten their children are saying: ‘You’ve put the money into the house, we want you to enjoy your retirement,'” Ms Horner reported.

Research earlier this week from AA Legal showed that 70 per cent of young people worried they would inherit debt, not wealth, from their parents, suggesting that a neutral financial scoresheet after parents’ death could be seen as a bonus, not a disadvantage.

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