With a lifetime mortgage, you take out a new loan secured on your property. You do not make repayments, instead interest is rolled up to be paid when the scheme is ended. You continue to own and live in your home.

After you and your partner have died or moved into long-term care, your house is sold and the amount you borrowed, including rolled-up interest, is paid to the lender. Anything left over, after costs, passes to your, or your partner’s, estate.

Lifetime mortgages are regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).