ABSTRACT
This chapter draws on findings from a qualitative study of seventy equity release consumers to explore the emotional dimension of trading on the owned home in later life. It explores the important role that self-conscious emotions play in equity release decision-making, including, particularly, the powerful effects of shame, guilt and pride in shaping how older owners feel about trading on their home. Financial services, including home finance products which borrow against the value of the owned home, are increasingly positioned as a key feature in older people’s lives. The difficulties facing older people who are ‘income-poor’ have been compounded by the impact of the global financial crisis and subsequent recession, which have constrained access to credit while increasing the cost of living. There are a number of mechanisms for accessing the wealth tied up in owner-occupied property, including trading down, selling up and renting, and ‘in situ’ equity release.
