Equity release interest rates: what's a good rate in 2026?

Quick answer: what is a typical equity release rate right now?

What is the average equity release interest rate?

The Equity Release Council's latest published average APR is 7.24% (Q2 2025), up from 6.64% a year earlier. APR includes fees, so it sits a little above the MER rates lenders advertise. When I last checked the market on 27 September 2026, advertised rates ran from 6.25% to 10.53% MER. Your own rate depends mainly on your age and how much you borrow.

Why speak to me about finding the best equity release rate?

I am independent and whole of market, so I compare every lender rather than a panel. I have advised on later-life lending since 2009, I am a member of the Equity Release Council, and I hold the SOLLA Later Life Lending Advice Standard. Trusted Equity Release is a trading name of Pellucid Ltd, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 981845. Every review on my reviews page is five stars, and around half were written by a client's son or daughter.

If rates are the question you want answered properly, get in touch and I will talk you through where the market sits for someone in your position. An opinion, or a second opinion, costs you nothing. Three ways, whichever suits: send me an email, request a printed brochure if you find that easier, or, if you are anything like me, just pick up the phone on the number at the top of this page.

What rates are lenders advertising?

Checked across publicly advertised rates on 27 September 2026:

The spread between the top and bottom of that table is the whole argument for shopping the market. The lowest rates go to lower loan-to-values, and the highest attach to maximum-borrowing plans. A written quotation is the only number that counts, and I set out where yours sits within the market when I produce one.

What is a good equity release rate?

A good equity release rate is one close to the lowest advertised rate for your age and loan size, fixed for life. The headline rate goes to people borrowing a small share of their home's value, so the more you release relative to its value, the higher the rate.

A good rate also comes with the right features: penalty-free partial repayments, a fair early repayment charge, and drawdown if you want it. A slightly higher rate on a plan that lets you pay interest each month can cost your family less overall than the lowest rate with nothing paid.

How have equity release interest rates changed over time?

In June 2022 the average lifetime mortgage rate was 5.0% (Moneyfacts). By November 2022, after that autumn's mini-Budget, it hit a record 8.13%. New launches averaged 7.48% APR in October 2023 and 6.47% in October 2024 (Advise Wise); the ERC put that month's advertised average at 6.89%. The ERC's average APR was 7.24% in Q2 2025. When I last checked the market, in September 2026, the lowest advertised rate was 6.25%.

One caution: the historic points come from three different measures, so treat the shape as the story rather than any single decimal.

The date at the top of this page shows when I last checked advertised rates.

What does compound interest do to what you owe?

On most lifetime mortgages you make no monthly repayments, so the interest rolls up: it is added to the loan amount and then earns interest itself. At 6.5% MER, a £60,000 lump sum becomes about £83,000 after 5 years, £114,700 after 10, £158,700 after 15 and £219,400 after 20. Roughly speaking, the debt doubles about every 11 years at that rate.

That is the honest cost of the product, and it is why for every £1 released each year, households aged 55 and over in Great Britain hold £852 of net property wealth: most people, quite reasonably, leave their housing wealth alone. The full numbers are in my equity release statistics.

What softens the compounding

Two things. Since 28 March 2022, every plan meeting Equity Release Council standards lets you make penalty-free partial repayments, and even small ones slow the curve. Drawdown plans only charge interest on money you have actually taken. If you later move into long-term care, the standards waive any early repayment charge, including care with relatives since 6 May 2025.

What decides the rate you personally get?

The loan-to-value does most of the work: the smaller the share of your home's value you borrow, the lower the rate. After that, in rough order:

• Your age. Lenders will lend a higher share the older you are, and pricing follows.
• The property. Construction, condition and location all move the offer.
• Your health. Enhanced plans can offer better terms where health or lifestyle shortens the expected term. Nobody enjoys that conversation, and it can genuinely change the numbers.
• Product features. Downside protections, inheritance guarantees and repayment flexibility each carry a price.

How do you get the lowest equity release rate?

Borrow the smallest amount that solves the problem, and take the rest as drawdown. That single decision usually saves more than any lender switch, because untouched reserve costs nothing. Then compare the whole market rather than one provider's range, disclose health honestly in case enhanced terms apply, and plan to use penalty-free partial repayments if you can spare them: even small repayments slow the compounding curve.

You can see what a given rate does to your own figures on my equity release calculator.

Can you release equity at 50?

No. Lifetime mortgages start at 55. From age 50 the option is a retirement interest-only mortgage, a RIO, which is a mortgage rather than equity release: you pay the interest monthly, so the debt never grows, and the rate market is completely different. As I tell clients, very few RIOs are actually done because they are hard to place, but I do arrange them. If you are 50 to 54, my advice usually starts there.

Is there a better alternative to equity release?

Sometimes, and a proper adviser says so before recommending anything. Downsizing, a standard remortgage, a retirement interest-only mortgage (RIO), family help or simply spending savings first can each beat a lifetime mortgage on cost. If you still qualify for an ordinary remortgage, it will nearly always be cheaper than equity release.

I have also had cases where the answer was a bridging loan rather than equity release, and I referred the client on. The alternatives to equity release page walks through each option.

Final thoughts from me

The points on rates that matter most:

• Lifetime mortgage rates are fixed for life, so the rate on day one is the rate for good.
• The lowest advertised rates go to people releasing a small share of their home's value.
• Rates peaked at 8.13% in November 2022 and have eased since.
• Unpaid interest compounds, so the rate matters more the longer the plan runs.
• Paying some interest each month can matter more than shaving the rate.