Later life lending: building the fourth retirement pillar 16/06/2026

# Later life lending: building the fourth retirement pillar SpeechesFirst published: 16/06/2026Last updated: 16/06/2026 Speech by Emad Aladhal, director of retail banking at the Later Life Lending Summit. ## On this page  - [Introduction](https://www.fca.org.uk/news/speeches/later-life-lending-building-fourth-retirement-pillar#section-introduction) - [Why later life lending matters more now](https://www.fca.org.uk/news/speeches/later-life-lending-building-fourth-retirement-pillar#section-why-later-life-lending-matters-more-now) - [The market is not yet ready to deliver](https://www.fca.org.uk/news/speeches/later-life-lending-building-fourth-retirement-pillar#section-the-market-is-not-yet-ready-to-deliver) - [Products that meet real needs](https://www.fca.org.uk/news/speeches/later-life-lending-building-fourth-retirement-pillar#section-products-that-meet-real-needs) - [Building trust and the consumer journey](https://www.fca.org.uk/news/speeches/later-life-lending-building-fourth-retirement-pillar#section-building-trust-and-the-consumer-journey) - [Fragmented advice, poor outcomes](https://www.fca.org.uk/news/speeches/later-life-lending-building-fourth-retirement-pillar#section-fragmented-advice-poor-outcomes) - [The role of technology](https://www.fca.org.uk/news/speeches/later-life-lending-building-fourth-retirement-pillar#section-the-role-of-technology-) - [The FCA is doing its part – are you?](https://www.fca.org.uk/news/speeches/later-life-lending-building-fourth-retirement-pillar#section-the-fca-is-doing-its-part-are-you-)  **Speaker:** Emad Aladhal, director of retail banking **Event:** Later Life Lending Summit **Delivered:** 16 June 2026 **Note:** This is a drafted speech and may differ from the delivered version **Reading time:** 10 minutes ## Highlights - Later life lending has the potential to become the fourth pillar in retirement, but there is work to do to deliver on that ambition. - To deepen consumer trust and deliver good outcomes, a joined-up approach across product design, advice, and support is needed. - The FCA will support a better-functioning market, but industry must take the lead. * * * ## Introduction In the years ahead, housing wealth will become an increasing part of how many people provide for their retirement. But it continues to be seen as an option of last resort, if thought about at all. Knowing I had this speech, as an experiment at a recent BBQ I had a conversation with my friends about retirement and savings – none of whom work in financial services. They talked about their employers’ pensions, SIPPs, ISAs, investments, and potential business ventures to supplement income in retirement. None brought up later life lending, or how they could use their home to help. I don’t believe my friends are unique in this. When consumers begin to consider their options for funding their retirement, they usually look to pensions: their state pension, workplace pensions, and personal pensions. The 3 pillars. But why should it stop there? Why should retirement planning focus only on these 3 pillars, and not on all assets available to the consumer? I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to you here today – you are the leaders from across the later life lending market, and through your actions the future of this market can be reshaped to meet the increasing needs of UK citizens. In this speech I want to deliver a simple message: - There is an increasing generational and social need to provide greater funding in retirement. - There is real opportunity to respond to this future demand by developing products people need, improving access to advice, and building trust. - And the FCA will do its part to foster good outcomes for consumers and the appropriate growth of this market to meet future needs. But you need to step forward. Because if you don’t, I expect others will step in to define that future. A future where consumers think about their accumulated housing wealth as a fourth pillar for retirement funding, both by choice and necessity. ## Why later life lending matters more now The pressures facing future retirees are becoming harder to ignore. There is growing recognition of a fundamental problem. Too many people are heading towards retirement without the income they will need to maintain their standard of living. The Pensions Commission has found that [15 million working-age adults will not have the retirement income they aspire toLink is external](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a073f6cf7c2e79c33db903d/Second_Pensions_Commission_Report_standard.pdf). People are living longer and working longer. But they may not fully appreciate their means and needs when they stop working. More and more people will reach retirement without fully understanding the scale of the gap they may face. And that may come as a shock when reality sets in. But many of these people have made difficult budgetary decisions early in their working lives to buy their home and through that act achieve a sense of stability and long-term security. Their home matters to them – and more so because it can also provide for their financial security in later life. This is more than plugging a retirement income gap. For some, it can fund improvements that allow them to comfortably remain in their own home, or meet care needs. For others, it is a strategic choice to manage their estate, or gift to their family. [Fairer Finance researchLink is external](https://www.fairerfinance.com/downloads/fairer_finance_how-can-housing-wealth-bridge-the-later-life-funding-gap.pdf) suggests that by 2040, 51% of households aged 60 and over could benefit from accessing their housing wealth in retirement through later life lending. It is estimated that these consumers will hold around £4.3 trillion in housing wealth. The same research estimates that it could unlock around £23 billion each year in today’s prices - many times bigger than today’s market. That gives a sense of the scale of the opportunity. We should not be talking about it as a market niche, but becoming part of a much bigger, everyday conversation about achieving financial resilience in later life. ## The market is not yet ready to deliver But despite all of that, the market is not yet positioned to deliver at scale. Our data shows that of the almost 330,000 mortgages advanced to over-55s in 2025, only 9% were lifetime mortgages or retirement interest-only products. That is only around 30,000 contracts last year. I believe this reflects challenges in both supply and demand. Supply: The current engagement levels with the market suggest that it may not be ready to support the future demand. And that is a problem if we want to grow this market. Demand: Too often, consumers engage only when they are under financial pressures, when they feel their options are limited. And advice is often not considering those options for retirees. But that is not how this market should be seen. Later life lending needs to be something consumers consider early, openly, and with confidence as part of their long-term planning. It won’t be for everyone. But for some, perhaps many, it is a viable and positive option. Unless the market adapts, it will miss both the opportunity to grow the market demand and fail to meet genuine consumer need. But how can you begin to build this fourth pillar now? ## Products that meet real needs The first building block is the products themselves. If later life lending is to become the fourth pillar, the market cannot rely entirely on existing products and funding models to meet tomorrow’s needs. We start from a position of strength – the UK financial services market is among the most innovative in the world. This market has innovated