NICKY BURRIDGE

The amount of money pensioners unlocked from their homes rose by 14% during the second quarter of the year, bucking the trend in the wider mortgage market, figures showed yesterday.

Despite falling house prices, retired people collectively released £275.7m from their properties during the three months to the end of June, up from £242.7 million during the first three months of the year.

Industry body Safe Home Income Plans (Ship) said the jump may have been driven by people bringing forward plans to cash in on their home's value due to fears that property prices would fall further.

It added that pensioners' finances may also be coming under pressure from rising food and fuel prices.

But despite the quarter-on-quarter increase, the value of equity-release plans taken out was still down on the record figure for the second quarter of £302.3m, reached last year.

Andrea Rozario, director general of Ship, said: "This success underlines the robust health of the equity-release sector despite the impact of the credit crunch that is having such a negative effect on the mainstream mortgage market.

"It also serves to highlight the distinctly different forces that drive the equity- release market relative to the mainstream market, including the fundamental pressures of the UK's ageing population, falling levels of pensions contributions and the very-high levels of personal wealth held in housing equity."

Equity release enables retired homeowners to access money tied up in their property without having to move.