The New Equity Release Lady

Divorce in later Life Equity Release is helping “Silver Splitters” during emotionally challenging times I have recently heard the phrase “Silver Splitter” for the first time, then I realised that we have many clients who are in fact divorcing in later life and therefore are silver splitters. Getting divorced at any stage of life is always a challenging time. Divorces among couples aged 55+ are on the increase over the last ten years, according to recent data from the Office of National statistics. Emotions at these times are understandably high and the process can feel complex and alien. For older couples who may have been married for many decades, these issues can feel magnified even further when having to unravel decades of later life finances and assets. Reports also show that there is a gender divide when splitting the couple’s wealth and women in particular face financial hardship after divorce. Often the family home is the most valuable asset for division on divorce a...

Today, the ERC announced that almost a third (30%) of new drawdown single plans are being taken out by female customers, whilst single male plans dropped to 14%. There are compelling reasons for women to use the equity in their homes to improve the quality of their life during their retirement. Age UK have reported that women are more at risk of living in poverty than men (especially if they are single) and that 1 in 5 women are suffering hardship or living in poverty which has increased from 6% to around 20% in 2021. According to the charity 18% of pensioners are living on the breadline. This is a great concern to us at The Equity Release Lady, especially as many may own their own homes and are cash poor but property rich. Sami Bickford Managing Director of The Equity Release lady said, ‘these figures make it even more important to us to spread the positive message about Equity Release to more people. We are determined to Educate, Empower and Support as many of these wom...

  Week 5  I h ave Survived So I thought I was going to get an early night before the BIG exam....no chance, my partner took my Son out for a few beers and came home so drunk that, he thought it was really important to wake me up to tell me he was getting into bed quietly so that he didn't wake me up!  I left the house 2 hours before I was due at the exam venue, thank goodness I did as I was sat at the Dartford Tunnel for 45 minutes as there had been an accident.  People laugh at my cautious Capricorn tendencies but today, this was a triumph for the goats.   Whilst sitting in the traffic, I went through all the great exam advice I had been given.   Don't let the questions confuse you by overthinking the answers.     Answer the ones you’re fairly confident of to begin with as this will improve your confidence. Then with the harder ones they usually follow the same principle.   R ead the questions carefully as many of th...

  Week 4 HELP, NO MORE! Monday morning is here and I can put this mock exam off no longer, I've got 2 hours which is plenty of time.  How much of this studying has gone in?  I set myself up in a quiet area, set the timer and an hour later I had answered all 75 questions.  This wasn't the plan its supposed to take 2 hours.  Suppose I had better do the boring bit now and check my answers (I've never been good at this bit, guess I'm just too impatient and want to know how many I got right or wrong).  Right, time to do the big marking session, I was in total shock, pass mark was 70% and I got 80% I was so happy that. On a personal note I have become so obsessed with this exam I have actually turned in to Studyzilla.  The role I had chosen relies on me passing this exam in order to give advice and therefore this exam, is my new job for now.  My house looks like a tip, my friends and family haven't had the same level of care and attention that I...

  Week 3 Its all about me! Well I had a very interesting email from Stuart saying that he had copied his wife in as she is also studying for her Equity Release exam and would I like someone to compare notes with.   Amazing, these guys really are the gift that just keeps giving.   I haven’t even given them my decision yet and hell yeah, I would absolutely love a study buddy.   Studying for this exam has been lonely and doing it all on your own isn’t much fun at all. My decision! After reflection I still had a few questions, how realistic are my expectations? I spoke to Sami who answered all my questions with honesty.  I was able to make my decision that I would trust my instincts and go for it.   I’ve left the corporate world and am now embarking on a new adventure with a family business with innovative ideas and fantastic values.   I really admire its ethos to lead the way for female advisors to give an educated approach for homeowners over t...

  Goodbye Corporate World - Week 2 What Will I do ? Well Sami was as good as her word and phoned me on Monday, only problem was I was the passenger in the car with my stepdaughter who is a learner driver.   Anyone that’s been on white knuckle rides with learners, knows you need your wits about you despite desperately wanting to answer Sami’s call, I just couldn’t risk life and limb. Its ok all was not lost Sami sent me a message and call set up for tomorrow.   I’m normally the one making these types of calls to chat to prospective employees and now yes, I’m nervous, how on earth do you make the right first impression over the phone? The call went well, a Zoom call was arranged to speak to the other MD Stuart Powell on Thursday. Quick update on the running…. I actually quite like it, my knees don’t, however I’m not giving up.   I enjoy the energy it has given me, I can do some of my best thinking whilst trying to shift lockdown pounds, well stones! So on...