Older homeowners are releasing an average of more than £100,000 from their properties, in what is being termed a middle-class stampede towards equity release.
Two separate studies found that homeowners were able to access triple-figure cash pots when taking out equity release deals- also known as lifetime mortgages.
This is when older homeowners take out a new mortgage on their home, allowing them to access some of the money tied up in it to spend in their later years.
Older homeowners are getting an average of more than £100,000 when they take out equity release mortgages - but there are plenty of risks involved
Homeowners release £1bn of equity in middle-class stampede dailymail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Only one in three homeowners aged over 55 feels confident they understand what equity release is and how it works, research from Boon Brokers has found.
Despite equity release being aimed solely at homeowners aged over 55, 67% of those surveyed admit they aren’t clear what it actually is.
The survey, which questioned almost 1,000 homeowners in the relevant age bracket, revealed that men are more likely to feel they understand equity release than women, at 39% opposed to 28%.
Those in South West England were most likely to feel clued up on the subject (47%), as opposed to only 25% of those in the North of England.