Later life lender more2life has called on the wider industry to ensure product innovation and effective technology solutions sit at the centre of the sector’s culture.
This it said should help drive sustainable market growth and deliver better outcomes for consumers.
Speaking at Finova’s ‘Unlocking 10x Growth in Equity Release by 2030’ event, more2life’s managing director of manufacturing, Ben Waugh, discussed how recent innovations such as interest reward lifetime mortgages and streamlined application and underwriting journeys can help improve choice for over-55s while also enhancing their experience of later life lending.
Reflecting on the market’s rapid acceleration in 2022, Waugh also discussed the key learnings from that period, including the need to develop effective decision-making infrastructure.
He highlighted how recent history has underlined the importance of putting these provisions in place now, ahead of future growth as the market’s full potential is unlocked.
Waugh also touched on how technology isn’t replacing advice, but is instead making good advice easier to deliver at scale.
It is, he described, an important part of building not only consumer confidence, but also in drawing new entrants to the market and in increasing referrals from introducers from across the financial service landscape.
POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT GROWTH
Waugh’s call to action comes at a time when recent data from Fairer Finance points to half of UK households aged 60 and over potentially needing to draw on housing wealth to support spending in retirement, highlighting the growing importance of later life lending as part of mainstream financial planning.
Additionally, the Financial Conduct Authority’s positioning of later life lending as a potential ‘fourth pillar’ of retirement demonstrates the regulator’s thoughts regarding market’s long-term prospects, and its underlying opportunities and untapped potential.
Expanding on his views after his presentation, Waugh said: “The bottom line is that we need to ensure the market provides choice for consumers, remains an attractive proposition for new entrants, and is a sector that introducers feel confident in referring to.
“Appropriate product innovation – rather than unnecessary complexity – and evolving processes that consistently deliver for consumers and advisers needs to sit at the centre of our thinking if we’re to scale later life lending to its full potential in a sustainable manner and take it from niche to norm.
“I’m proud to be able to stand up and demonstrate the ways what more2life are delivering on those key touchpoints, and we look forward to building on that ethos throughout the rest of 2026 and beyond.”
