Aviva equity release is a lifetime mortgage sold as two plans, Lifestyle Flexible Advantage and Lifestyle Max. How each works, who qualifies and the fees.
Everything here comes from Aviva's own pages and dated documents, read on 20 October 2026; Aviva did not write it. Which plan suits your home, if either, is for an adviser to work through with you. Aviva's name, written into the form on this page, gives the qualified equity release adviser a place to begin when they phone you.
One kind of equity release, not two
"The type of equity release we offer is a lifetime mortgage," runs Aviva's landing page. The other main type, the home reversion plan, means selling all or part of the home to a provider below market value; home reversion against lifetime mortgage compares the two.
On an Aviva plan you make no repayments unless you choose to. Interest builds up daily and is added to the balance on each policy anniversary, so later interest is charged on earlier interest. The loan is normally repaid, usually from the sale of the home, once the last borrower dies or moves into long-term care. How equity release works follows the whole journey.
The firm states that it is a member of the Equity Release Council and that "All Aviva Equity Release Lifetime Mortgage products meet the Equity Release Council Standards." Those are standards its members follow, not law binding every lender; see the Council's standards. The Council's own standards page says every customer taking out equity release needs independent legal advice.
Who Aviva will lend to
The eligibility page and brochure set these conditions:
- Every homeowner must be 55 or over, so a couple are held to the younger partner's age.
- The home must be in the UK, but "not available in the Channel Islands or Isle of Man", and worth at least £75,000.
- It must be your main residence and not "unoccupied for more than six months at a time".
- The smallest loan is £15,000.
- Any existing mortgage must be cleared first or from the money borrowed; Aviva wants the home mortgage-free or with only a little mortgage still owing.
The brochure lists the qualifying tenures as "freehold (or feuhold/ex-feuhold in Scotland)", with some leasehold homes possible, and the eligibility page rules out retirement apartments and other age-restricted homes. For flats and leases, see equity release on a flat and on leasehold. In Scotland, section 9 of the Conveyancing and Feudal Reform (Scotland) Act 1970 means a loan secured on a home has to take the form of a standard security.
Two plans: Lifestyle Flexible Advantage and Lifestyle Max
The customer brochure (PF011273, November 2025) states: "Aviva has two lifetime mortgages, the Lifestyle Flexible Advantage and the Lifestyle Max." Both carry the same standard features. The differences:
| Lifestyle Flexible Advantage | Lifestyle Max | |
|---|---|---|
| How the money is taken | One lump sum of £15,000 or more, or an initial lump sum (at least £10,000) plus a cash reserve (at least £5,000) | One lump sum of £15,000 or more |
| Later money | Reserve carries no interest until drawn, then priced at the rate valid that day | One lump sum only; no reserve |
| Early repayment charge types | Fixed and gilt-based | Fixed |
| Interest-servicing uplift | Yes | No |
The Max may allow a larger loan than Flexible Advantage but, the brochure warns, probably at a higher rate. Extra borrowing later is not guaranteed; drawdown lifetime mortgages and top-ups explain the idea.
What Aviva has printed about its rate
Aviva's costs page says there is no set figure for the rate: it depends on age, property value, health and lifestyle, and how much you release. Your rate comes with the offer and then "will be fixed until the lifetime mortgage ends". A reserve drawn later, or extra borrowing, gets the rate valid when you ask.
The rates in the November 2025 brochure are two past worked examples, "based on our rates as of 14 May 2025" and "only intended to provide a guide". In the first, David (65) and Lisa (62), with a £360,000 home in Leeds, were eligible to take £100,800 on the Max at 9.24% (APR 9.3%). In the second, Susan, 76, with a £350,000 home in Bristol, took a lump sum plus reserve on Flexible Advantage at 5.95% (APR 6.2%), because her heart conditions qualified her for medically enhanced rates; without them, the example says, her rate would have been 6.45%. These are not rates on offer today. Equity release interest rates and enhanced lifetime mortgages explain how to read yours.
Because age, property and health all move the figure, a qualified equity release adviser can set Aviva's plans against your own details. Asking one to call you, through this page's form, is free.
Paying some back, and what is left for family
Aviva allows voluntary partial repayments: each year up to 10% of the initial loan plus any further borrowing and reserve releases, leaving out accrued interest, with a £50 minimum each time. Once made, a repayment cannot be taken back out. Aviva's repayment guide (PF011893, May 2026) graphs £90,000 at 6.3%: £225,031 after 15 years with no repayments, £10,696 if the full allowance is repaid every year. It is an illustration, not a rate on offer.
On Flexible Advantage, repayments that cover the policy year's interest get an uplift, a percentage added on, shown in the Key Facts Illustration. Its guide (PF011981, October 2026) lets you start, stop or change payments whenever you like; anything above the interest due gets no uplift.
Repaying the whole loan early is different: an early repayment charge may apply, fixed or gilt-based, chosen at the start; repaying equity release early covers the booklets. Downsizing protection applies after three years, on plans applied for on or after 8 April 2019: if a new home does not meet Aviva's lending criteria, you may repay without an early repayment charge. See moving house.
An optional Inheritance Guarantee sets aside a percentage of the home's value, which means borrowing less; the brochure warns that the loan still shrinks what you can leave, guarantee or not (equity release and inheritance). The no negative equity guarantee means you or your estate "will never have to pay back more than your home can be sold for", provided it sells for the best price reasonably obtainable. Set against that are compounding interest, possible effects on means-tested benefits (equity release and benefits), solicitor costs you pay yourself, and a duty to keep the home in repair and insured, on pain of possible repossession.
How you reach Aviva, and what it costs
Go direct and Aviva's team checks eligibility, then books an adviser from Aviva Equity Release Advice, a trading style of Succession Financial Management Limited, to which Aviva Equity Release UK Limited is introducer. That adviser "can only advise you on our lifetime mortgage". You pay no separate advice fee because Aviva pays commission when the loan completes; further borrowing needs advice again, with a fee. Or you can use your own adviser; the brochure points anyone wanting a recommendation drawn from the whole market to an independent equity release adviser. Whichever adviser you use, ask which lenders they can advise on; equity release advisers explains how to check.
Aviva's tariff (PF01459, January 2025, the version its charges link opens) lists:
- An arrangement fee, added to the loan and shown in your illustration.
- No upfront valuation fee for homes up to and including £5 million.
- Legal fees you pay your own solicitor: for members of The National Solicitors' Network, an estimated £750 including VAT for a standard case, plus £156 for leasehold, with the exact sum confirmed by the solicitor.
- For extra borrowing, an application fee of £175 added to the loan; for a house move or change of borrowers, £395 upfront.
A straightforward case takes about 6 to 8 weeks from application to money, by Aviva's estimate. Other parties' costs are in equity release fees.
Questions people ask about Aviva equity release
How do existing Aviva customers manage their plan?
The brochure says existing customers can contact Aviva through MyAviva.
What happens to an Aviva plan after a death or a move into care?
The process page and tariff give the estate 12 months to repay, with interest still building, and Aviva may allow longer if a sale is progressing. The Aviva redemption statement guide covers the paperwork; power of attorney and equity release covers attorneys.
How can I get a rough idea of what Aviva might lend?
The brochure carries a table of rough maximums for a single applicant, which it says are not guaranteed, and points to a three-step online calculator. How much equity release explains the limits.
Next step
Should Aviva be on your shortlist, a qualified equity release adviser can price it for your home, ringing the number you give in the form on this page.
Sources: Aviva Equity Release UK Limited, all read 20 October 2026: Equity release, eligibility (published 15 October 2026), process (15 October 2026), advice (15 October 2026), costs (updated 15 September 2026), FAQs and Council FAQs; documents Our guide to equity release (PF011273 11/2025), Tariff of Charges (PF01459 01/2025), voluntary partial repayments (PF011893 05/2026), repayments with the uplift (PF011981 10/2026) and gilt index early repayment charges (PF011612 03/2026). Equity Release Council, Standards. Conveyancing and Feudal Reform (Scotland) Act 1970, section 9.