March-April 2021

Moving Forward Worldwide Perspective Equity Release Is Key to Global Retirement Security By Steve Irwin, President, National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association ON SEPTEMBER 16, representatives from NRMLA and a dozen other countries—including the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Canada, Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands and New Zealand—participated via Zoom in the first-ever Global Equity Release Roundtable. The meeting, originally planned for the springtime in London before COVID-19 hit, came together thanks to the combined efforts of Longbridge Financial CEO Chris Mayer and his European contacts. We came together for a simple reason. Retirement security is a global concern. Everyone on this planet is living longer and the developed nations are looking for options to support their aging populations. Through this meeting, companies shared informa- tion about their programs and the challenges they have encountered gaining consumer acceptance. What we came away with was a shared understanding that the responsible use of home equity can be a critically important option to help seniors stay financially secure. In a separate survey conducted after the meeting, we learned some interesting facts: • The market size in most countries is small when mea- sured by the number of financial institutions offering equity release products. Less than five companies operate in eight of the 12 countries, while the largest markets are in the United States and U.K.; • Only five countries, including the U.S., U.K., Canada, New Zealand and Spain, require inde- pendent counseling prior to pur- chasing a product; • The estimated housing wealth in the U.S. and U.K. for home- owners age 60 and older is over $3 trillion. In Canada, Italy and Germany, it’s between $1-$3 trillion. In all other countries, estimated home equity is less than $1 trillion; • The biggest barrier to growth identified by nine coun- tries is a lack of consumer awareness, while four other countries identified “lack of funding;” and • The youngest eligible age to purchase an equity release product ranges from 55 to 65. We hope to have another meeting this year to continue a dialogue with these companies. Through greater collaboration, we hope to improve access to the tools that senior homeowners across the globe need to live more financially secure lives. Steve Irwin REVERSE MORTGAGE / MARCH-APR I L 2021 5