Does Legal & General do equity release?

Yes, Legal & General does equity release, as lifetime mortgages only: three plans for homeowners aged 50 or 55 and over, arranged through an adviser.

If you are asking whether Legal & General do equity release, the answer on its own website is yes, through its lender Legal & General Home Finance. What it sells is a lifetime mortgage, not a home reversion plan. Whether lender minimum ages and property values leave your home in range is a point an FCA-authorised, qualified equity release adviser will cover by phone; the form on this page puts in that free request.

Which equity release plans does Legal & General offer?

Legal & General describes its lifetime mortgage as "a loan secured against your home that allows you to release tax-free cash without needing to move out". Its lifetime mortgage page lists three plans:

• Interest Roll Up Lifetime Mortgage, for borrowers aged 55 or over who want a lump sum, or a series of lump sums, and "pay nothing until you die or move into long term care".
• Optional Payment Lifetime Mortgage, also from 55, for those who would "pay off some or all of the interest".
• Payment Term Lifetime Mortgage, from 50, for those who would "pay all the interest each month for a chosen payment term", taken as a single lump sum.

The first two let you take money in stages as well as in one go: £10,000 minimum for the first release and £1,000 for each later one, with a later amount possibly priced at a different rate. The third has no drawdown. To see how stages work in general, read how a drawdown lifetime mortgage works.

Its home reversion guide says plainly, of the other type of equity release, "We don’t offer them." Who offers home reversion plans covers that route.

How do the three plans treat monthly interest?

This is the main difference, and it changes what you owe. On the Interest Roll Up plan, Legal & General says there is "no need to make any monthly interest payments", though you can make partial repayments. The Optional Payment plan lets you pay some or all of the interest, but once you stop you cannot start again. Its cost page says paying monthly for the first 15 years keeps a reduced fixed rate for life, and missing more than six payments in that time, or stopping, means a higher fixed rate; its Optional Payment page says the reduction depends on when you took the plan out.

The Payment Term plan is different in kind. You must pay the full interest each month for the chosen term, and "as a last resort, your home may be repossessed" if you do not keep up. The term can last up to the oldest borrower’s 75th birthday, after which the plan works like a standard lifetime mortgage. The no negative equity guarantee does not cover missed monthly payments on this plan.

Who can take out a Legal & General lifetime mortgage?

Legal & General lists three conditions for its lifetime mortgages: you must be 55 or over (50 for the Payment Term plan), you must own or be buying your home "with little or no mortgage left to pay", and the home must be worth at least £70,000, or £100,000 depending on property type. Its comparison chart puts the higher figure on flats, maisonettes, ex-council, ex-housing association and ex-Ministry of Defence homes. How much you can borrow is "determined by your age and property value", and on the Payment Term plan by affordability too.

Its calculator accepts ages from 50 to 90 and gives only an estimate. For the picture across lenders, see equity release age limits and how much equity release you can get.

What does Legal & General say about its rates and costs?

The rate is fixed for life. Interest is calculated daily and added to the loan each month, so interest is then charged on interest already added. Instead of a rate you could borrow at, its interest rates page says the rate "will be based on your individual circumstances". What its lifetime mortgage interest page does print is a table of compound interest at example rates of 6%, 7% and 8% on an initial loan of £50,000. At 6%, it shows £66,911 owed in year 5 and £160,357 in year 20. Those are examples, not offers. How roll-up interest builds explains the effect, and equity release rates covers reading a real illustration.

Its cost page lists an arrangement fee of "around £600", or none on some products, a £30 fee to send your money to your solicitor, and solicitor fees "around £860". It adds that it charges no valuation fee and no advice fee for its own advice service, which it says is paid for by a payment from Legal & General Home Finance when the mortgage completes. Totals across lenders are on the equity release fees page.

What safeguards come with it?

Legal & General Home Finance says it is "an active and supportive member" of the Equity Release Council and that "all our lifetime mortgages comply with their standards". These are standards for members, not law, and the Council’s standards have their own page. Legal & General also guarantees that beneficiaries will never have to pay more than the sale value of the home, if the property is sold for the best price reasonably obtainable and you have met its terms.

Its own pages list the usual trade-offs: the amount owed can grow quickly, an inheritance is reduced, an early repayment charge "could be substantial", and benefits that depend on your means may be affected. Equity release and benefits and equity release in the UK go further. In Scotland a loan secured on a home takes the form of a standard security, the Scots-law equivalent of a mortgage charge.

How do you arrange a Legal & General lifetime mortgage?

Legal & General says you can only take out equity release "through a qualified financial adviser", and that you also appoint an equity release specialist solicitor once you accept an offer. It gives about eight weeks as the average for the whole process. Which lenders an adviser can arrange varies by firm, so ask at the first call whether this one is available. Whether a plan of this kind suits you is worth raising, free, by phone with a qualified equity release adviser; begin that with the form on this page. Other routes are in choosing an equity release adviser, and why you need a solicitor covers the legal side.

More on Legal & General’s lifetime mortgages

Is there a Legal & General home reversion plan?

No. Its guide describes home reversion, which it does not sell, as usually available from 60, with the provider paying less than the market value for the share of the home you sell. How a home reversion plan works explains the part-sale.

Can you protect some inheritance with a Legal & General plan?

It offers an Inheritance Protection option that secures a proportion of the net sale proceeds of your home. Its guide says taking it reduces the amount you can borrow. See how equity release affects inheritance.

Can you move home with a Legal & General lifetime mortgage?

Yes: its Optional Payment page says "the loan will be transferred as long as the new property meets our requirements". See moving house with equity release.

Can you take Legal & General equity release on a flat?

Its property value rules name flats and maisonettes, with a higher minimum value of £100,000. Whether your block qualifies is something an adviser can check on a free call-back; the form is on this page. Equity release on a flat covers the general position.