If you have reached the retirement age and you need to plan ahead for your financial future, you could be forgiven for thinking that the government is not doing as much as it can to help pensioners with their communal and housing needs. The government’s track record has not been the best to date and there is definitely room for improvement for extra help for pensioners, especially help for releasing equity for pensioners.. In this regard it was nice to see that recently a group of influential MPs commissioned an investigation into the current standards of social care that is being provided to pensioners.

In a nutshell the report found that people who have retired are not being supplied the standard of social care that they deserve. One of the key findings in the report criticised the government for allowing the funding for NHS care, social care and social housing to come from various services. The report also cited how pensioners are being treated merely as parcels that are being passed from one area to another and this can cause unnecessary distress for those who are looking for help with their care needs. This is the result of the services being fragmented and they are failing to deliver the services required by the retired.

The MPs who were responsible for the report highlighted the fact that the government quickly needs to address the widening gap between the amount of funding that is available for social care services and the increasing number of people that need suitable social care services. It highlighted that the amount of money available in the system is simply not enough to meet the increasing demand for social services for the elderly.

With the increasing shortfalls in funding for the elderly and the bleak outlook for the financial future, the elderly who have now retired need to start looking at funding their future privately. That means having a look at raising the extra cash through their homes in which a reasonable amount of equity has been accumulated over the years.

Releasing equity for pensioners is a good alternative to help raise extra cash for those who are property rich but yet cash poor. This is probably a better time than ever for the government to recognise the benefits of releasing equity for pensioners to raise extra cash to fund retirement. This is a especially true in times where people are being asked to work longer whilst pension schemes start to decline in value.

Equity release schemes for pensioners are no longer looked upon as helping people raise extra money to fund a more lavish lifestyle. On the contrary, equity release schemes are becoming a necessity for pensioners to use for extra money to pay for essential costs such as cost of care, paying off debt, making up pension shortfalls and to fund the regular day-to-day expenses of life.

Research is beginning to show that more and more pensioners are beginning to experience poverty in their retirement years. This includes those who are property rich with a decent amount of equity tied up in their properties but yet they struggle with paying for their fuel bills. With so many people coming into retirement with potential funding shortfall this is a time when equity release schemes for pensioners need to be put at the forefront for the elderly to consider as a potentially viable option to help address any financial problems.

Equity release plans are even more attractive for those who are property rich but yet they don't have any immediate beneficiaries who will benefit from the estate when the home owner dies. In such cases the equity is probably best released and used during the lifetime of the homeowner.

If you would like to explore the options that are available for releasing equity for pensioners then you can talk to one of our advisers who will be happy to discuss the different equity release possibilities with you. Our advisers are experienced in offering professional advice to allow people to turn their equity into cash successfully. So contact us to see how we can help you turn your equity into cash quickly.