Head to Head: Canada Life vs Just Group

The renewal of my passport may not immediately seem relevant to the Later Life Lending sector, but on seeing the expiry date, it quickly did to me!

Traditionally, by then I’d be expected to wind down and possibly even retire, but since becoming self-employed, I’m not sure that’s the path that I wish to follow and it did remind me of an article I read a while ago about finding your ikigai, as I think I’ve found mine.

As quoted in The Guardian in 2017: ‘In Japanese culture, retiring and not keeping your mind and body busy is seen as being bad for your health since it disconnects your soul from your ikigai. Ikigai can be translated as “a reason for being” – the thing that gets you out of bed each morning. Finding your ikigai is felt to be crucial to longevity and a life full of meaning. The people of Japan keep doing what they love, what they are good at, and what the world needs even after they have left the office for the last time.’*

Whether you find your ikigai or not, Later Life Lending will still be a consideration for most of us and although I have never worked directly in the sector, I’ve always taken a keen interest and I remember undertaking some detailed research, probably around 15 years ago, which included two focus groups.

We were looking at the sector as one of the many potential opportunities for us to expand into and it was fascinating to see and hear the views of the two groups, as the younger group were very clear about wishing to use the equity to fund their lifestyle into retirement with the second older group much more focused on property maintenance and improvements to help them to continue to live in their home.

This month, I pitch Canada Life against Just Group, as both issued releases in December which were based on new research and statistics relevant to the Later Life Lending sector.

Canada Life conducted research recently and found that 15% of people surveyed said they wouldn’t use equity release to fund their retirement because they don’t understand it, which was a three-fold increase on findings in 2016.

What I liked about this release, was not that they commissioned their own research, but that off the back of it they did something. This was their ‘Equity Release Explained’ brochure which set out to explain the subject better to homeowners and their friends and families. Therefore, I’ve scored them well across the board, as I do believe greater awareness and education is needed, amongst other things, to grow the market.

The second release is from Just Group, who used recent ONS data which showed that overall life expectancy at age 65 in the constituent countries of the UK is at its highest ever level for both men and women.

They make the point that although average life expectancy may be interesting it is not a good figure to anchor on given the range of possible outcomes that might apply to their unique case. Therefore, as we don’t know which group we will fall into, so it is important to make financial plans that cover a wide range of possibilities.

Canada Life wins this month as they followed up the research with an aid that helps both brokers and customers, but both them and Just Group should be applauded for continuing to seek to advance and provide solutions in this much needed sector.

*Source: The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/sep/03/to-live-longer-find-your-ikigai