Equity release rates are not one number: each lifetime mortgage is priced plan by plan. This guide explains what sets the rate and how to see the cost.

If you have searched for equity release interest rates today, you want a number. This guide explains why it does not print one, what moves the rate on a lifetime mortgage, and where the cost of a particular plan is actually set out. What a plan would cost on your own home and at your age is something a qualified equity release adviser can show you, and you can be introduced to one by filling in the form on this page. Asking is free and commits you to nothing.

Whatever the rate, a plan is not taken out on the strength of a web page: the process includes advice from a qualified equity release adviser and a solicitor's independent legal advice. On the second, the Equity Release Council's standards call for independent legal advice for all customers. Those standards bind the Council's members, not every firm. How a lifetime mortgage works from start to finish is in our guide to equity release in the UK.

What rate does equity release charge?

No single rate applies to everyone, so a market average would mislead for two reasons. First, each plan is priced for the borrower, so an average describes nobody's offer. Second, rates move with the markets, so a printed figure would soon be out of date. The rate on offer to you today is something a qualified equity release adviser can find out; whether equity release rates are likely to fall looks at what pushes them up and down.

MoneyHelper, the government-backed guidance service, says that "Lifetime mortgages may have higher interest rates than ordinary mortgages. This means debt can increase quickly." A lifetime mortgage does not require monthly repayments, so on a roll-up plan the interest is not paid off as it falls due but is rolled up, or compounded, and the loan and that interest are repaid when the borrower dies or moves into long-term care.

Because interest is then charged on interest already added, the debt grows faster over time than the rate alone suggests; how compound interest builds up on a roll-up lifetime mortgage explains the mechanics, and equity release examples shows it with figures.

What sets the rate on a lifetime mortgage

"Lifetime mortgages make up more than 99% of the market", according to the Equity Release Council's Q2 2026 market report, so the rate most readers are asking about is a lifetime mortgage rate. A home reversion plan is a part-sale, not a loan; see home reversion compared with a lifetime mortgage.

Two forces set that rate. The first is the wider market. The Council's market bulletin for Q2 2025 says gilt rates govern the interest rates of equity release products, so when gilt rates move, equity release rates tend to follow, for every borrower at once.

The second is the borrower and the plan. The same bulletin describes plans with "dynamic pricing whereby the final APR depends on what features the customer chooses, their age, the LTV and the value of the property." LTV means loan-to-value: the loan as a share of what the home is worth. That describes plans on the market in mid-2025, not every lender, and the rate they add up to for you is the interest rate deal set out in the Key Facts Illustration for a plan you are offered:

Some plans are designed around a borrower's health; what an enhanced lifetime mortgage is covers them.

Is the rate fixed for the whole life of the plan?

On a plan that meets the Equity Release Council's standards, yes, in the sense the Council uses. Its product standard reads: "Interest rates must be either fixed or, if variable, have a fixed cap. Both of which must be fixed for the life of the loan." So a variable rate comes with a cap, and the cap stays put. The Council is "a voluntary trade body", so this binds its members rather than every lender; where an adviser suggests a product outside the standards, it says, they need to explain clearly why, and what the risks are. The Equity Release Council's standards covers the other protections.

On a plan that meets the standard, the rate or its cap is therefore set when you take the plan out. A rate that is fixed for life is not the same as a low rate, and it does not stop the debt growing on a roll-up plan. It only fixes the rate at which it grows. Whether a plan's rate is fixed or capped, and the figure, is shown in the documents you are given before you commit.

How to work out what equity release will cost you

A headline rate on its own cannot tell you what a plan will cost. That depends on the rate, how long the loan runs, whether the money is taken at once or in stages, whether anything is paid back along the way, and the fees. For a real plan, one document brings those together.

The Key Facts Illustration

An adviser's recommendation comes with "a Key Facts Illustration (KFI)", MoneyHelper explains. For a rates question, three of the things it says the KFI sets out matter most:

  • "the overall cost of the scheme and any fees to pay"
  • "the interest rate deal (for lifetime mortgages)"
  • "details of regular payments and how much they would be if interest rates increased (for lifetime mortgages)."

MoneyHelper adds: "You can use this information to shop around and compare similar schemes from other providers." That is the place a rate stops being an average and becomes the rate for your plan, and the document to compare when you are weighing one plan against another.

Fees on top of the interest

The interest rate is not the whole cost. MoneyHelper says there can be substantial fees, including charges for advice, solicitors, valuation and arrangement; it puts the total at between £1,500 and £3,000. The Equity Release Council says an adviser's explanation should cover all the costs you will have to bear in setting up the plan. Equity release fees goes through them, and how to get an equity release quote explains what you need to provide.

MoneyHelper describes the recommendation and KFI together as "a personalised report", which is why no page of averages can stand in for one. If you would like to see figures for your own home, a qualified equity release adviser can prepare that illustration and talk you through each line of it; requesting that introduction takes only the form on this page.

Comparing rates properly

The rate is one line of a KFI, next to the overall cost and the fees, so comparing plans on the rate alone can mislead. It helps to ask the same questions of each plan.

  • Is the rate fixed, or capped, for life? If a plan is outside the Council's standards, the adviser is expected to say so and explain the risks.
  • Can you pay anything back without a charge? Penalty-free repayment is one of the Council's standards, but only within the provider's lending criteria, so each provider sets its own allowance. Paying back beyond it, or repaying the whole loan early, can trigger an early repayment charge; see repaying equity release early.
  • What are the fees? A lower rate with higher set-up costs, or the other way round, is a different cost over the life of the plan. Which combination is better depends on the household.
  • Which part of the market does the adviser look at? MoneyHelper suggests confirming whether the adviser searches the whole market and what type of equity release products they can offer. See how to find and check an adviser.

On a roll-up plan, one more thing separates plans that have similar rates: how long you hold the loan. MoneyHelper says: "The earlier you take out an equity release product, the longer you have the loan, and the more interest builds up." Any rate looks different over a short plan than a long one. Switching an existing plan to another lender is covered in moving a lifetime mortgage to another lender.

The trade-offs to weigh whatever the rate

A low rate, or one fixed for life, changes how fast the debt grows. It does not change what kind of commitment a roll-up lifetime mortgage is:

  • The debt still grows. With interest rolled up, even a modest rate adds to the balance every year the plan runs, which is why MoneyHelper calls equity release "an expensive way to raise funds".
  • Less is left to pass on. Whatever the loan and interest come to is repaid before anyone inherits the home, so beneficiaries receive what is left. See how equity release affects inheritance.
  • Means-tested help may change. MoneyHelper warns that entitlement to means-tested state benefits, local authority grants or Council Tax reductions "could be affected"; equity release and benefits explains how.
  • Getting out early can cost money. Such agreements can be hard to alter and may carry early repayment charges, so a rate that looks good now is also a rate that may be costly to leave.

The independent legal advice the Council's standards require comes from a solicitor acting for you, before any plan completes; see why you need a solicitor for equity release. This page covers the UK as a whole. On a home in Scotland the loan is secured by a standard security, under section 9 of the Conveyancing and Feudal Reform (Scotland) Act 1970, rather than by a mortgage charge, because the Act says a security for a debt over land there can only be created in law as a standard security.

Questions people ask about equity release rates

Do I pay interest on equity release?

On a lifetime mortgage, yes: it is a loan, and interest is charged. On a roll-up plan it is added to the loan and compounds rather than being paid monthly. A home reversion plan is a sale of all or part of your home, so it is priced differently, taking into account "your age and your health", in the Council's words. See whether equity release is a loan.

Do lenders charge different rates depending on loan-to-value?

On plans with dynamic pricing, yes: the Equity Release Council's Q2 2025 bulletin lists "the LTV" among the things the final APR depends on, alongside features, age and the property's value. For how much the rate changes at your loan-to-value, the KFI for a given amount shows the rate that applies.

Which lenders have the lowest rates, and how do I compare them?

Rates are not ranked here, because the rate each lender offers depends on the borrower and the plan, and changes over time. A fair comparison sets KFIs for similar plans side by side, which MoneyHelper says is what the KFI is for. Our pages on Canada Life, Pure Retirement and Aviva cover what those providers publish.

Will equity release rates come down?

Nobody can say. The Equity Release Council ties these rates to gilt rates, so they follow the wider market; whether rates are likely to fall looks at it further.

Next step

A rate on a web page tells you little about a plan for your own home. For the wider decision, is equity release a good idea? and the alternatives weigh it up, and MoneyHelper's own equity release guide covers the basics. When you want to know what rate and total cost you would actually face, and how they compare with other ways of raising money, that question can reach a qualified equity release adviser at one FCA-authorised firm if you send it using the form on this page.

Sources: Equity Release Council, Q2 2025 market bulletin; Equity Release Council, Q2 2026 market bulletin; Equity Release Council, Our Standards; Equity Release Council, What is equity release?; MoneyHelper, What is equity release?; legislation.gov.uk, Conveyancing and Feudal Reform (Scotland) Act 1970, section 9. Accessed 17 October 2026.