Innovation and leveraging technology vital to drive consumer outcomes and market growth

Leading later life lender more2life has called on the wider industry to ensure that product innovation and effective technological solutions are leveraged effectively, and sit at the centre of the later life lending sector’s culture, if it’s to drive sustainable growth and generate best outcomes for consumers.

Speaking at Finova’s ‘’Unlocking 10x Growth in Equity Release by 2030′ event, more2life’s Managing Director of Manufacturing, Ben Waugh, discussed how recent innovations such as interest reward lifetime mortgages and streamlined application and underwriting journeys (such as the one underpinning more2life’s ProView tool) can not only improve choice for over-55s, but can also enhance their experience of later life lending as a whole.

Reflecting on the market’s rapid acceleration in 2022, Waugh also discussed the key learnings from that experience, including the need to develop effective decision-making infrastructure, and the way recent history underlined the need to make sure such provisions are put in place now ahead of future acceleration when the market’s full potential is unlocked.

Waugh also touched on how technology isn’t replacing advice, but is instead making good advice easier to deliver at scale. It is, he described, an important part of building not only consumer confidence, but also in drawing new entrants to the market and in increasing referrals from introducers from across the financial service landscape.

A market primed for significant uplift

Waugh’s call to action comes at a time when recent data from Fairer Finance points to half of UK households aged 60 and over potentially needing to draw on housing wealth to support spending in retirement, highlighting the growing importance of later life lending as part of mainstream financial planning. Additionally, the Financial Conduct Authority’s positioning of later life lending as a potential ‘fourth pillar’ of retirement demonstrates the regulator’s thoughts regarding market’s long-term prospects, and its underlying opportunities and untapped potential.

Expanding on his views after his presentation, Ben Waugh says:

“The bottom line is that we need to ensure the market provides choice for consumers, remains an attractive proposition for new entrants, and is a sector that introducers feel confident in referring to. Appropriate product innovation – rather than unnecessary complexity – and evolving processes that consistently deliver for consumers and advisers needs to sit at the centre of our thinking if we’re to scale later life lending to its full potential in a sustainable manner and take it from niche to norm. I’m proud to be able to stand up and demonstrate the ways what more2life are delivering on those key touchpoints, and we look forward to building on that ethos throughout the rest of 2026 and beyond.”

“We firmly believe that technology and innovation are the key pillars on which to achieve the later life lending market’s full potential, and by holding our event we’ve confirmed not only our belief in the sector, but also in the value of sharing cross-industry insights to drive best practices. It’s great to have forward-thinking companies such as more2life sharing their experiences and we look forward to see what they, and the wider later life lending sector, deliver in the future.”

Warren Bleechmore from Finova