LV= has adjusted the repayment options for its ‘Drawdown+’ and ‘Lump Sum+’ lifetime mortgages.

The minimum repayment amount has been lowered to £50 and the 12-month waiting period has been removed.

As well as this, new Lump Sum+ borrowers will be able to make an unlimited number of fee-free repayments worth up to 10 per cent of the initial loan advance in each policy year.

New Drawdown+ borrowers will also be able to make an unlimited number of payments without incurring early repayment charges, instead of the previous six per year with a minimum payment of £250.

LV= adds that the ERC period for Lifetime Mortgage Drawdown+ policies is now based on the completion date of the original loan, not the date of further withdrawals made.

And the maximum loan amount for Drawdown+ borrowers has gone up from £500,000 to £1.5m.

LV= retirement director David Stevens says: “Attitudes to equity release are changing as more people recognise it as a way to fund retirement and after listening to advisers, we have made improvements to our early repayment options to be more competitive and flexible to their customer’s requirements.

“By introducing these improvements across our Lifetime Mortgage products, we will be more responsive to customers’ changing circumstances, giving them more freedom and choice to control the interest roll up on their policies.”