The Equity Release Council’s Equity Release Summit, which will take place next month, will examine intergenerational gifting and green equity release.

The event takes place on Thursday 12 May, in Church House Westminster, London. It runs from 9am to 5pm with a networking reception until 6pm.

Jim Boyd, Equity Release Council CEO, said: “It is our intention that the Equity Release Summit will be the landmark equity release event of the year.

“We are proud that our event, in the heart of Westminster, will raise issues of interest to our sector and our members and will attract industry leaders, policymakers and international delegates.

“All of them regard the Council’s standards as the first point of reference on how to foster a safe and attractive equity release market.”

Plenaries will be held on subjects including the following:

• Intergenerational gifting, examining its value and importance and why wealth management is increasingly relevant
• Green equity release, considering the green deal and the role of housing wealth and equity release
• The future of equity release, discussing technical and digital challenges as well as issues around reputation, standards and qualifications.

Parallel industry breakout sessions will cover:

• Build your equity release brand (sponsored by Pure Retirement)
• Later life lending – health and wealth (sponsored by Just Group)
• Financing colourful retirements and cascading wealth (sponsored by Legal & General)
• Uncovering your clients’ long-term thinking (sponsored by Canada Life)
• The lightbulb moment (sponsored by Standard Life Home Finance)
• The undiscovered benefits of data enrichment in the equity release sector (sponsored by finova)
• Reframing equity release for the post-pandemic consumer (sponsored by Truth Consulting, part of Instinctif Partners)

Speakers and chairs include: Bernie Hickman, Legal & General retail CEO; Liz Barclay, UK Small Business Commissioner and the Council’s independent Standards Board member; the Rt Hon Damian Green, MP and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on longevity; John Godfrey, group corporate affairs director, Legal & General; David Forsdyke, head of later life finance, Knight Frank; Emma Harvey, programme director, Green Finance Institute; Craig Brown, Legal & General home finance CEO; James Daley, Fairer Finance MD; and Graham Evans, head of compliance, Equity Release Supermarket.

Hickman said: “I’m really pleased to be supporting this summit in the Equity Release Council’s 30th year.

“Legal & General has been innovating for the benefit of customers since we came into the market in 2015 and I believe this key event will show how innovation and greater product choice are helping lifetime mortgages play a bigger role in retirement planning.

“The cost of living crisis, supporting younger generations and our collective need to take action on climate change, will see lifetime mortgages become even more important in the future.”