Alternatives to equity release

1. Downsizing

Selling your current home and buying a smaller or less expensive one releases the difference as cash — with no borrowing, no interest and no debt against your home.

• Works well when: your home is larger than you need, you're open to moving, and the numbers stack up after moving costs and stamp duty.
• Think about: the emotional cost of leaving a family home, the practical upheaval, and whether suitable smaller properties exist where you want to live.

2. Retirement Interest Only (RIO) mortgage

A mortgage where you pay only the interest each month, usually for the rest of your life. Because interest never rolls up, the amount you owe stays the same — which typically preserves far more of your home's value for your family than a lifetime mortgage.

• Works well when: you have reliable pension income that can comfortably cover a monthly interest payment.
• Think about: affordability is assessed — often on the surviving partner's income alone — and your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments.

3. Standard remortgage

Age limits on ordinary mortgages are higher than many people think. If you have income — from employment, self-employment or pensions — a conventional mortgage or remortgage may be available well into later life, often at competitive rates.

• Works well when: you have provable income and want the lowest-cost borrowing with a defined end date.
• Think about: monthly repayments of capital and interest, and lender age caps at the end of the term.

4. Retirement mortgages

Purpose-built later life mortgages designed around retirement income, sitting between a standard mortgage and equity release. Terms and repayment structures vary, and this is a fast-evolving corner of the market.

• Works well when: a standard mortgage isn't available but you can still afford some level of repayment.
• Think about: product features vary widely — advice matters more here, not less.

5. Using savings or investments

Borrowing against your home while money sits in savings or investments can mean paying interest unnecessarily. Sometimes the cheapest source of funds is one you already have.

• Works well when: you hold accessible savings beyond a sensible emergency fund.
• Think about: keeping a cash buffer, tax implications of encashing investments, and whether your money is working harder invested than the interest you'd avoid.

6. Family assistance

In some families, help from adult children — whether a loan, a gift, or contributing to costs — is a better answer than interest compounding for decades, particularly where the family's priority is preserving the home's value.

• Works well when: family are willing and able, and everyone is comfortable putting the arrangement in writing.
• Think about: family dynamics, and taking care to document any loan or gift properly.

7. Other later life lending solutions

Depending on your circumstances there may be other suitable routes — from payment-term lifetime mortgages to hybrid products that convert over time. The market has changed enormously in recent years, which is one more reason not to assume equity release is the automatic answer.

And yes — sometimes equity release is the answer

If you don't want to move, can't or don't want to make monthly payments, and want a guaranteed right to stay in your home for life, a modern lifetime mortgage can be exactly the right tool. When it is, we'll say so plainly — and explain why the alternatives above suit you less well. Read our plain-English guide: equity release explained.

Not sure which of these applies to you? That's normal — it's precisely what the fact find is for.