How retirees are using home equity to boost income

So how are retirees using HEAS and reverse mortgages more generally, and what are the trends?

How to get the most from HEAS

Despite relatively high levels of home ownership among Australian retirees, take-up of HEAS is still relatively low but growing rapidly.

Following the changes in July 2022 allowing lump sum payments and the introduction of a no negative equity guarantee, take-up increased almost 60% to 9,750 participants in the year to June 2023. Around 75% of participants were on a full Age Pension, 20% were part-pensioners and just 5% were fully self-funded retirees.

The total amount of money drawn stood at $240 million in June 2023, up from $138 million a year earlier.

A study by the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR) at UNSW looked at who is using HEAS and how. It found 91% of HEAS users opt to receive the maximum amount they are eligible for. To find out if this is the best use of the scheme, the study modelled four different strategies using 20 different household types, including couples and singles aged 67 who are eligible for the Age Pension and HEAS, with and without children, with income from housing, super and other assets, and five different wealth levels.

The strategies were:

• ASFA standard: Use HEAS so combined income from super, other assets, the Age Pension and HEAS reaches the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) comfortable lifestyle budget for the household type
• 70% replacement: Use HEAS so the combined income from super, other assets, the Age Pension and HEAS reaches a 70% pre-retirement income replacement rate
• Maximum payment: Receiving the maximum amount from HEAS annually
• Lump sums + ASFA: Use lump-sum payments to cover aged care expenditures plus fortnightly payments to support an ASFA comfortable lifestyle.

One of the study’s authors, Dr Katja Hanewald, director of research at the Ageing Asia Research Hub, said results were measured not just on financial outcomes but the value people place on having extra cash now rather than in future, living in their own home and giving to their children.

The study found most households are better off receiving the maximum payments. The ASFA standard strategy provided the highest gains for lower income households and women while the 70% replacement strategy benefitted wealthier households.

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The following case studies illustrate some of the ways retirees are using HEAS.

Note: All rates and data as at 20 March 2022

Access to lump sum payments

While commercial reverse mortgage providers have long offered lump sums as well as regular income payments, HEAS borrowers have only been able to receive lump sum advances since July 2022. The maximum advance (which may be taken in one or two bites) is capped at 50% of the maximum annual rate of Age Pension. Currently that is up to $21,876 for couples and $14,514 for singles.

Pension Boost is a private company helping retirees access HEAS for a fee. Pension Boost founder and CEO Paul Rogan says it’s a broad church in terms of what people will use the lump sum for – from maintaining the home or repairing the car to repaying credit cards, large bills, health and aged care costs.

“It’s a modest lump sum advance compared to the general minimum commercial reverse mortgage of $40–50,000,” he says. 

While the modest sums available via HEAS attract Age Pensioners on lower incomes, self-funded retirees may be more attracted to the flexibility and larger potential payments offered by commercial reverse mortgages.

Growing demand for reverse mortgages

Commercial reverse mortgages in Australia come in various forms and names including home equity release and home reversion. Since a regulatory shake-up in 2012, consumer protections have been enhanced, including no negative equity guarantees.

As cost-of-living pressures squeeze retiree budgets, demand for alternative sources of income is likely to increase.

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Founder and CEO of reverse mortgage provider, Josh Funder expects consumer need and awareness to drive rapid growth in demand for equity release products. He says customers are borrowing for a variety of reasons, including:

• Topping-up income with regular monthly drawdowns
• Refinancing of an existing mortgage or debt
• Bank of Mum and Dad giving money to the kids or grandkids for a home deposit, mortgage costs or education
• Medical and aged care expenses.

In practice, customers may use a reverse mortgage for one or several of these reasons rather than deplete their super.

As baby boomers progress through retirement, funding aged care will become a priority for many. Dr Hanewald says a reverse mortgage could be a good solution where one member of a couple goes into residential aged care while the other remains at home, so selling the home to pay an accommodation deposit is not an option.

A reverse mortgage may also be used to pay for home care services, to modify the home to make it easier to live in, or to pay someone to do the gardening.