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Legal & General equity release review 2021
Compare Legal & General's equity release plans and understand how they work with this guide.
Table: sorted by the lowest AER.
We work with Age Partnership, one of the UK’s leading equity release specialists, which scours more than 500 deals to find the best equity release products. We compare only lifetime mortgages, and do not compare any home reversion plans. To understand the features and risks of lifetime mortgages, ask for a personalised illustration from a lifetime mortgage company. Check that this type of mortgage is suitable for your needs if you plan to move or sell your home or you want your family to inherit it. If you're not certain, seek independent advice. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
What's in this review?
Legal and General is one of the world’s biggest asset management companies, offering individuals a huge range of financial products including lifetime mortgages.
What equity release plans do Legal & General offer?
Legal and General offers three types of lifetime mortgage.
With each of them, there’s no obligation to pay back the loan until after you die or move into long-term care.
The products are:
- Flexible Lifetime Mortgage. Take a lump sum or a series of lump sums.
- Optional Payment Lifetime Mortgage. Take a lump sum or series of lump sums, with the option to make early repayments.
- Income Lifetime Mortgage. Take a loan as a regular income, rather than a lump sum.
How does it work?
A lifetime mortgage is a loan secured against your home.
With Legal & General, you can choose to receive it as a lump sum, several lump sums or a regular income.
You’ll be given the option to make early repayments, or to wait until you die or move into long-term care.
Either way, you’ll retain 100% ownership of your home and can remain living in it for as long as you wish.
When you apply for a lifetime mortgage, the advance and interest rate offered to you depends on a number of factors, including your age and the value of your home. The minimum advance is £10,000 and the maximum is £750,000.
Here are some features you can add to your mortgage:
- Inheritance protection. This feature will ensure a specific amount of equity is saved to pass onto your heirs. It will reduce the amount you can borrow for your lifetime mortgage.
- Take additional lump sums. With an Optional Payment Lifetime Mortgage, you can make early repayments on your loan without facing any fees. The most you can repay in this case is 10% of the original sum borrowed per year.
- Take your loan as an income. With an Income Lifetime Mortgage, you can borrow a lump sum (at least £2,500), followed by a monthly income (of at least £200). You can choose to receive this income over a period of 10, 15, 20 or 25 years.
- Release more equity when you need it. Legal & General accepts applications for you to release more equity, after you’ve received your first loan. You can apply to borrow additional lump sums of at least £2,000 whenever you wish. These sums will be added to your overall debt.
Is Legal & General safe?
The interest owed compounds quickly, as you’re not making any repayments on the loan, so you can lose a lot of money out of your estate. However, you’ll never owe more than the value of your home.
You can also add inheritance protection to ensure a specific amount of money is left to your heirs.
Legal & General is a reputable company, which has lent to over 89,000 customers at a rate of over 400 per week. The lender will arrange an appointment with one of its financial advisors for free, but you’ll need to appoint your own solicitor.
Eligibility criteria
- Youngest applicant must be aged between 55 and 90.
- Your property must be valued between £100,000 and £2 million.
- Available for properties located in England, Wales and mainland Scotland only.
How to apply
You can begin your application by calling 0808 250 7684 or requesting a callback at www.legalandgeneral.com. The lender estimates it takes roughly 8-12 weeks for your equity to be released.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Experienced reputable lender;
- A financial advisor is appointed for you, with no fee;
- Lots of flexibility for how you’d like to receive your money;
- You can choose to make early repayments;
- You can protect some equity to ensure your heirs are passed on a specific amount.
Cons
- Interest can compound quickly, meaning your estate can quickly diminish.
Legal and General customer reviews
Legal & General has received mixed reviews from customers, according to review platform Trustpilot. It currently has a rating of 3.3 out of 5, based on more than 10,000 reviews (updated 12 April 2021). Some customers praised its trustworthy service, but others cited delays with processing their equity release application.
Our verdict
If you’ve decided a lifetime mortgage is right for you, Legal & General is a good lender to consider.
It offers a lot of flexibility for how you can take your money, and will even appoint you a financial advisor at no cost.
Frequently asked questions
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