Almost two-thirds of homeowners aged 55 and over look to price comparison websites (PCWs) to compare financial products, according to research from the Equity Release Council (ERC) and Equity Release Supermarket.
The ERC’s bi-annual Home Advantage study of 5,000 adults showed growing confusion among homeowners about the financial options available to them in later life.
A third of homeowners over 55 (33%) were confused about their options in later life, a slight improvement from 2021 when 34% said the same.
Female homeowners over 55 felt more confused about what mortgages were available to them than their male counterparts (37% versus 28%).
Moreover, female homeowners over the age of 55 felt less confident about their retirement finances than male homeowners of the same age (50% versus 66%), yet women were also less likely to use PCWs when researching financial products (25% versus 28%).
However, homeowners aged between 55 to 64 specifically were more likely to find PCWs easy to use and were also more trusting of them than all other age groups.
PCWs ranked among the four most popular sources of information relied on by older homeowners.
When asked what sources of information they favoured when researching different financial products, over-55 homeowners prioritised using consumer websites (36%), speaking to their bank or building society (35%), speaking to a financial adviser (30%) or using a PCW (27%).
Consumers had a growing desire to take control and have greater awareness of financial products available to them, with 61% of all homeowners – equivalent to 18.7 million people- interested in releasing money from their property in later life to satisfy financial needs.
In addition, with more ‘ultra-long mortgages’ running beyond the average state pension age, a large number of homeowners over 55 believed a mortgage in later life is becoming more ‘common’ and ‘acceptable’ (44%).
Jim Boyd, CEO of the Equity Release Council, said: “While it might be cliched to talk about silver surfers, over-55 homeowners see consumer websites as their first port of call when researching financial information and are more comfortable than some other age groups when using price comparison websites.
“That said, they are still likely to rely on the human touch citing their bank or building society and their financial adviser as popular sources of information.
“With increasing numbers of homeowners admitting that they are confused about their later life options, it is vitally important that they not only undertake as much research as possible from reputable websites but also speak to experts.
“The real value of expert financial advice is helping customers to make sense of all their options, consider the implications and answer some of the many questions that conflicting information sources can raise.”
He added: “Alongside qualified advice, it is essential we get ahead of future demand by harnessing technology to ensure consumers can find the information they need to make informed choices.
“Without the right prompts in place, people may never get to the stage of sitting down with an adviser, which is why later life options need the same online visibility associated with other everyday financial products to help more people see their potential.”
Mark Gregory, founder and CEO of Equity Release Supermarket, added: “Until now, researching later life options online proved difficult given the lack of information and choice across the market, leaving consumers feeling confused by their options.
“However, with tools and live calculators consumers have a vast amount of real-time and accurate information at their fingertips to personalise their requirements before engaging with a financial adviser.
“The study also revealed that those aged 55 and above are much more tech savvy than most realise, relying on online financial research and comparison tools.
“Hence, there is an upsurge in the demand and reliance on platforms such as smartER™.”
