Baby boomers using home equity to pay for living costs, Heartland says

Retirees are using reverse mortgages to fund day-to-day expenses such as groceries. (Image: Getty)

Tue, 24 Oct 2023

Heartland Bank’s retiree reverse mortgage customers are increasingly using funds drawn down from their homes to pay for day-to-day expenses such as groceries, haircuts and coffees at the café, the bank says. Heartland's head of retail, Keira Billot, said with the cost of living rising and high-interest rates, its reverse mortgage customers were using home equity to bridge the gap between superannuation payments and their expenses.One of the features of a reverse mortgage is people could choose to have a regular monthl...

Subscribe to BusinessDesk

Stay informed on business, government and financial developments across New Zealand.

Deeply researched, twice-edited and fact-checked news
Annual subscribers also receive a complimentary subscription to The Wall Street Journal
Personalised email news alerts, plus gift up to 5 stories a month to non-subscribers

You can cancel anytime with two clicks, an email or a phone call.
Find out more.

We are serious about journalism.

Name {{ registerForm.errors.get('name') }}

Email address {{ registerForm.errors.get('email') }}

Phone Number {{ registerForm.errors.get('phone') }}

Job Title {{ registerForm.errors.get('title') }}

Password Minimum password length of 8 characters.
Require at least one upper and lowercase, numeric, and special character. {{ registerForm.errors.get('password') }}

Repeat password {{ registerForm.errors.get('password_confirmation') }}

We had trouble validating your card. It's possible your card provider is preventing us from charging the card. Please contact your card provider or customer support.

Credit Card

Cardholder's name

{{ __(plans[index].name) | capitalize }} {{ plans[index].attributes.old_price | currency }} {{ plans[index].price | currency }}

All subscriptions auto renew but are easy to cancel.

I Accept The Terms Of Service

{{ registerForm.errors.get('terms') }}

Tax: {{ taxAmount(selectedPlan) | currency }}

Total Price Including Tax: {{ priceWithTax(selectedPlan) | currency }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerSeat ? '/ '+ spark.seatName : '' }} {{ selectedPlan.type == 'user' && spark.chargesUsersPerTeam ? '/ '+ __('teams.team') : '' }} / {{ __(selectedPlan.interval) | capitalize }}

Policy

Apprenticeships to be moved to new industry skills boards

Vocational Education Minister says new training model will help build skills.

Maria Slade 1:00pm

Energy

TAG Oil sells more NZ assets

TAG stopped operating in NZ in 2019.

John Anthony 1:00pm

Retail

Listed retailers stand to gain from Trump tariffs: Forsyth Barr

Forsyth Barr lifted its KMD Brands target price by 10.4% after Trump tariff walkbacks.

Gregor Thompson 12:00pm

Listed retailers stand to gain from Trump tariffs: Forsyth Barr

Sponsored

“Not an invisible footprint”: Why technology supply chains need optimising

Outdated hardware is a supply chain and cost risk.

Datacom

Sponsored

Bayleys Total Property Issue 3 out now

Backed by Bayleys’ national strength and global reach

Bayleys

More Markets

Markets

Pacific Edge suffers another setback in US

Shares in cancer diagnostics company Pacific Edge are down 2.44% to $0.120 after another setback in the US market.The US District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania has determined that it does not have jurisdiction to review a Local Coverage Determination (LCD) that co...

Staff reporters 3:00pm