Hodge left equity release in 2021, so it has no lifetime mortgage for new customers; this covers what it sells now and what existing plan holders can check.

Anyone searching for hodge equity release reviews is usually trying to work out whether Hodge still lends this way, and the firm's own announcement is the best place to start. For a lifetime mortgage today, the options can be weighed against your home and age by an FCA-authorised adviser holding an equity release qualification; to start, use the form on this page.

Does Hodge still offer equity release?

No, not to new customers. Hodge's announcement of 18 February 2021 said its life company would cease selling annuities and "equity release mortgages", and its chief executive said: "As a result of the sale, we are withdrawing from the equity release market." New quotes stopped on 19 February 2021 at 5pm (GMT).

The chief executive also said the firm was looking at re-entering the market with third-party funders. That was a 2021 intention, and the current Hodge mortgage pages described below list no lifetime mortgage.

For existing borrowers the announcement said their terms and conditions would not change. Hodge's help page later said it would remove the flexible withdrawal facility for equity release mortgages on 19 May 2025 and contact borrowers affected. If you are weighing what is on sale today, how to compare equity release providers sets out what to check, and the full guide to how equity release works covers the product itself.

What Hodge sells to older borrowers now

Hodge's mortgage pages list two products for people from age 50: Resi Retire and a retirement interest only (RIO) mortgage. Neither is a roll-up lifetime mortgage: on both, the borrower makes monthly payments. Both are sold only through advisers: Hodge says it does not offer either directly to the public.

  • Resi Retire. A set-term mortgage designed to take lending into retirement. Hodge's page gives a term of up to 41 years and borrowing up to 95% LTV on repayment or 80% on interest only, subject to affordability.
  • RIO. Hodge says you can borrow up to 75% of the value of your home and pay only the interest each month, with no repayment until you move into long-term care or pass away. It describes the product as designed for borrowers over 50 who want "an alternative to equity release".

Because the monthly interest must be affordable, these suit a different reader from a roll-up lifetime mortgage. Retirement interest only mortgages compared with equity release sets out that choice.

Early repayment charges on an older Hodge lifetime plan

Hodge's mortgage help page points anyone with an equity release mortgage to its early repayment charge factsheet. The factsheet on Hodge's intermediary site, headed "SWAP rate", covers the Flexible and Lump Sum Lifetime Mortgage and says a lifetime mortgage "is not intended to be paid off early", and "Your mortgage offer or key facts illustration will confirm which ERC basis is applicable."

For a fixed charge, the factsheet says that in years one to four the charge is 5% of the capital repaid, falling to 4% in year five, 3% in year six, 2% in year seven and 1% in year eight. A variable charge adds a second element, worked out from any fall in swap rates, on top of that scale, and the factsheet caps the total: "The Early Repayment Charge shall never exceed 25% of the capital repaid."

The factsheet lists cases with no charge, among them:

  • selling and permanently vacating the property while repaying in full;
  • repayments made under the plan's Flexible Repayment Option;
  • repayment after the youngest borrower's 90th birthday;
  • repayment after the last borrower moves permanently into residential long-term care on medical or other specialist advice;
  • repayment after the last applicant dies.

Your own offer documents decide which rules apply, so read them rather than a summary. Repaying equity release early explains how charges work generally, and equity release fees covers the other costs.

Rolling up interest on Hodge's older retirement mortgage

Hodge's mortgage help page has a section headed "Retirement mortgages (Historic product)", about an older Hodge mortgage rather than the Hodge Lifetime plans above. It says interest can be rolled up only from age 80 (on a joint mortgage, the youngest borrower must be 80 or over) and only after holding the mortgage for at least five years, and "You can't revert back to payments once you've opted to roll up."

For that product the same section says "There'll be a no negative equity guarantee in place": provided its terms are met, a shortfall on a move into long-term care or death is not the borrower's to pay. "The No Negative Equity Guarantee doesn't apply if you repay your mortgage early, if your home hasn't been kept in a good state of repair or if it wasn't sold at its fair market price." The Equity Release Council's standards require its members' lifetime mortgages to carry a guarantee that, "provided the secured property is sold for the best price reasonably obtainable and the terms and conditions of the loan have been met", neither the borrower nor their estate is left owing more than the property fetches, less reasonable costs of selling.

Whether a given plan carries Council standards is shown in that plan's own documents. What the Council's standards cover goes through each one.

If you came looking for a lifetime mortgage

Lifetime mortgages on sale now come from other lenders. How much equity release you can get explains what limits the amount, and equity release rates explains how pricing works. Any lifetime mortgage adds compound interest, leaves a smaller estate, can affect means-tested benefits and may carry heavy early repayment charges; equity release and benefits covers the Pension Credit side. Taking advice from a qualified equity release adviser, and taking independent legal advice, both form part of the process under the standards Council members follow, which is not the same as a legal requirement. In Scotland the lender takes a standard security over the home rather than a mortgage charge.

An adviser can set a lifetime mortgage against alternatives such as downsizing, using your own circumstances. When a conversation about downsizing or a lifetime mortgage would help, the call-back request sits in the form on this page.

Hodge names, plan types and going direct

Was a Hodge Lifetime plan a loan or a sale of part of the home?

Hodge's documents describe loans: the 2021 announcement speaks of "equity release mortgages" and the factsheet above covers lifetime mortgages. A home reversion plan instead sells a share of your home. How a home reversion plan works and who offers them cover that other product.

Is Julian Hodge Bank the same as Hodge?

Hodge's tariff of mortgage charges says "Hodge is a trading name of Julian Hodge Bank Limited". The factsheet above says "Hodge Lifetime is a trading name of Hodge Life Assurance Company Limited".

Can I go direct to Hodge for a retirement mortgage?

Hodge says it does not offer Resi Retire or RIO "directly to the public" and that you need an adviser. Choosing an equity release adviser explains what to ask.

How much will Hodge lend on a retirement mortgage?

Hodge says "we base the final amount we'll lend on your ability to afford the loan", and the limits quoted above are maximums. Whether paying interest monthly or letting it roll up suits your income is a fair question for the free call-back.