UK equity release schemes unlikely to reach Manx homeowners soon

Manx homeowners are unlikely to be offered UK-style equity release schemes in the near future, according to a local financial adviser.

Paul Chase, a financial adviser with the firm Financial Options, told Manx Radio that UK providers are being put off by the island’s different regulations and the small size of its market.

Equity release schemes let homeowners draw cash from the value of their property, typically later in life.

Manx Radio reported that figures point to growing numbers of people aged over 55 in the UK considering such schemes. Homeowners on the island, however, have so far been left out.

According to the broadcaster, the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority, the island’s financial regulator, is the sole regulator of the local market. Manx Radio said any firm hoping to sell equity release here would have to meet legal and property requirements that it described as restrictive.

Those rules, along with the limited number of potential customers on the island, are among the reasons providers have stayed out, the report said.

Mr Chase told Manx Radio he does not expect equity release products to become available on the island any time soon.

The report did not detail the specific legal and property requirements involved.

For now, the schemes that a growing number of older people in the UK are exploring are not an option for homeowners here.