Considering lifetime mortgages in estate planning

Housing wealth is the second largest asset for over 55s¹. In fact, older homeowners hold more than £2.6 trillion in equity². However, greater financial capital ultimately means more tax. With this in mind, your clients who hold larger estates could be considering their inheritance Tax (IHT) liability upon death.

Clients in this position could consider gifting to family in their lifetime. The difficulty is that many do not have the capital to make lifetime gifts. As a result, HMRC expects to collect £5.3bn of IHT in 2019/20 – more than double the IHT paid ten years ago³. To reduce the IHT bill for many households, the Government introduced the residence nil rate band (RNRB) in 2017. This was designed to pass a home to immediate family without a tax charge. Despite its introduction, the RNRB did little more than counter the freezing of the nil rate band (NRB) since 2009⁴. 

Estate planning with the home

According to HMRC, UK residential property accounts for more than half of gross estate assets. Yet IHT planning with the family home has traditionally been difficult. This is in part due to issues around gifts with reservation (GWR) and pre-owned assets tax (POAT).

Lifetime mortgages

A lifetime mortgage is a loan secured against the home. As a form of equity release, it allows your clients to unlock some of the wealth tied up in their home. It is usually repaid upon death or when your client moves into long term care. There may be cheaper ways to borrow. Interest rates are fixed for life and could be a viable option to provide capital for lifetime gifting.

A lifetime mortgage won’t be right for everyone. But in the right circumstances, they could offer a useful way to provide an early inheritance to loved ones.

Download the following case study to explore these circumstances in greater depth:

Considering lifetime mortgage in estate planning PDF size: 1544KB

Your client should be made aware that if they gift money away, there may be inheritance tax to pay in the future. Interest is charged on the loan amount plus any unpaid interest added.

Interested in finding out more?

We specialise in helping advisers understand the opportunities in the lifetime mortgage market.

Leave a message and we can arrange a convenient time to talk.

Get in touch

¹ONS: Total Wealth in Great Britain – April 2016 to March 2018

²Equity Release Council, 2019

³Office for Budget Responsibility: Inheritance Tax

⁴GOV UK: Inheritance Tax thresholds and interest rates