Equity release is a way of taking the cash out of your home while you still live in it.

During retirement people often only have enough money to live off and are cash poor when it comes to things like luxury holidays, which they finally have the time to take. But what many people do have is a lot of cash – ‘equity’ – tied up in their house. Below is a list of our selection of the most popular Equity Release options in the UK:

Key – Key takes an honest and personal approach to their advice, so they do all they can to make sure we find the right plan for you. From no monthly repayments to guaranteeing an inheritance for loved ones, they have a number of plans to suit you.

BRS Equity – They have helped many clients achieve their dreams by releasing some or all of the available equity in their homes. They fully understand the procedures involved but over the years they have gained an invaluable insight into the fears and concerns our clients have. They aim to ensure that any queries are fully addressed without reservation, and to make sure the process is as easy and straightforward as possible.

Aviva – The type of equity release we offer is a lifetime mortgage. It’s a long-term loan on the value of your home, which is repaid, usually from the sale of your home, when you (and your partner, for joint lifetime mortgages) die or need to go into long-term care.

Sunlife – Sunlife is a very popular company that deals with equity release, with a number of different options for people looking into this. They also have a handy and easy to use calculator in order to help their customers find out what rates they can get and how much that they can release.

Equity Release 4U – They act as a somewhat comparison site using different companies to find out the best rates for their customers such as: Bridgewater, Pure Retirement, Age Partnership etc.

LV – Liverpool Victoria is working with Age Partnership to provide an Equity Release advice service. They’re independent experts who specialise in Equity Release advice and therefore can access products across the whole equity-release market.

Nationwide – They are a long-standing building society used by a lot of people across the country. Their Later Life range of mortgages have no valuation, product or advice fees. However, they state that if you choose a Lifetime Mortgage deal, you will need to seek and pay for independent legal advice. Their Lifetime Mortgage range comes with £1,000 cashback with the initial completion, which you could use towards these fees.

StepChange – Stepchange is a debt company that helps with a lot of debt and credit card consolidation, and has a section for equity release that they use as a useful help towards debts. Very helpful for those in dire circumstances and needing solid advice to help clear payments like this.

Legal & General – They are experienced in equity release and lifetime mortgage specialists, since 2015 we’ve lent £4.4bn to over 89,000 customers.

Fluent Lifetime – Fluent is a similar comparison website that works with a number of equity release firms to calculate the best deals that you can get with low customer fees guaranteed. For example, for a release of less than £25,000, the fees are £995. For releases of £25,000 or above, the fees are 1.65% of the amount released subject to a minimum of £1,495. These fees are only payable should you proceed with a lifetime mortgage.