Hymans Robertson has joined the Equity Release Council as a member. 

The financial services consultancy says its move to join the lifetime mortgage body “reflects the long-term prospects for growth and innovation in the market, which was among the fastest-growing in retail financial services in the decade leading up to the Covid-19 pandemic”. 

Hymans Robertson offers pensions, investments, benefits and risk consulting services, as well as data and technology solutions to employers, trustees and financial services institutions. 

The Equity Release Council says there is approximately £1.63trn of equity locked up in property, making this asset class second only to private pensions as a source of wealth in the UK.  

Its membership includes over 750 firms, including all active lifetime mortgage providers across the UK, Ireland and Canada, as well as financial advisers, solicitors, surveyors and other professionals. 

Hymans Robertson head of insurance investment & asset and liability management Nicola Kenyon says: “There is a huge opportunity and demand for equity release mortgages, including hybrid product innovation to support a comfortable retirement for many customers in the UK.  

“We look forward to working with the Equity Release Council and their member community in finding ways to help individuals to unlock their property wealth in a safe and appropriate way.” 

Equity Release Council chief executive Jim Boyd adds: “The desire of consultancies like Hymans Robertson to join our established provider and adviser members shows how important equity release and later life mortgages will be to the future of UK financial services, underpinned by the certainty and security provided by council standards. 

“With an ageing population putting pressure on many public services, the private sector and institutional investors have a big role to play in providing innovative ways for people to tap into their property wealth and, in doing so, answer some of the biggest public policy challenges of our times.”