Reverse mortgage options too limited
New attention needs to be directed to reverse mortgage-type products in circumstances where it is increasingly obvious that large numbers of baby boomers will not have sufficient funds for a comfortable retirement.
Financial services consultant, John Wiseman, has pointed to the likelihood of financial planners encountering increasing numbers of clients needing to access the equity they have in their family homes but has pointed to the dearth of appropriate products.
He said he believed demand from retired Australians would profoundly change the future of financial advice with planners challenged to provide solutions that capitalised and more effectively utilised the dormant wealth and value locked up in the family home.
"For many years, it has been very obvious that a great number of Australians approaching or currently in retirement will have to use their family home in some form to assist them address a myriad of financial dilemmas as the result of living longer," Wiseman said.
"As a result, financial planners will be on the frontline and need to prepare themselves now for a wave of enquiries and requests for assistance and solutions."
However, he cautioned that there were limited suitable reverse mortgage options available in the market and a real need for financial services firms to develop innovative products capable of meeting what was likely to be a growing need.
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