Retirement is your well-deserved time to put your feet up and relax after a life of hard work. To ensure you’re living in comfort, you may be thinking about renovating your home after you retire. 

For instance, you may have always dreamed of a modern kitchen, or relaxing in a new conservatory. 

Of course, ambitious home improvements will often cost thousands of pounds, so you may be considering the different ways you could fund your renovations efficiently without eating into your retirement savings too much. 

So, from equity release to 0% purchase credit cards, continue reading to discover four clever ways you could cost-effectively fund your dream home improvements in retirement. 

1. Use money held in low-interest savings accounts

First, and perhaps the most obvious way to fund home improvements in retirement, is simply by using any savings you hold in a low-interest savings account. It may be wise to use this money first, as your savings’ purchasing power could be eroded in real time due to high inflation. 

A significant benefit of doing this is that you won’t have to worry about taking on additional debt, and you won’t need to deal with monthly repayments or the terms and conditions of a finance agreement.

It’s worth keeping in mind that your smaller budget could limit your renovation plans. You may need a substantial amount of money available immediately to fund your home improvements, which you may not be able to access quickly.

It’s also important not to use up savings you had set aside specifically for living expenses in retirement, as this could leave you out of pocket and unable to fund your dream lifestyle after you stop working. 

2. Use a 0% credit card

While you may not want to take on more debt to fund your renovations during retirement, borrowing money can sometimes be a good thing. If you would be happy to take on extra debt to fund your home improvements, it may be worth using a 0% purchase credit card. 

With this, you should be able to borrow a certain amount of money with a 0% introductory interest rate available for a set period of time. This could potentially allow you to spread the costs of your renovations by paying off less than the full amount each month, all while paying no interest. 

Though, it’s of the utmost importance that you try to clear your credit card balance before your 0% interest deal ends and ensure you make repayments on time. Debt can quickly spiral out of control if not managed properly, which can be a weight on your shoulders and a source of severe stress you don’t need in your later years.

A potentially useful way to ensure you stay on top of credit card debt is by setting up monthly direct debit payments to chip away at your debt before the end of the 0% introductory period.

3. Remortgage your property

Another potential option to fund your renovations is by remortgaging. This is essentially when you have some equity in your home – meaning you owe less on the mortgage than the house is worth – and then borrow additional money against your home. 

While you will have the full sum of money needed to fund your home improvement by remortgaging, it’s worth noting that you will owe more in total on your mortgage. If you find yourself running short on retirement savings, this may affect your ability to keep up with larger mortgage repayments. 

Also, it’s essential to consider what could happen to your monthly payments should interest rates rise, as it’s typically seen as a long-term commitment. As such, it may be wise to seek independent financial advice before remortgaging to ensure you can realistically afford to secure more debt against your home. 

4. Release equity tied up in your home

Even though it may be wise to leave your money invested in your property and use any cash you have on hand to fund your home improvements after you stop working, equity release could also be another clever solution.

Equity release essentially allows you to liquidate capital held in your home to fund any planned home improvements you may have. You can typically either make interest payments on the additional loan, or you can let the interest “roll up” and pay it off when you sell your home or move into long-term care. 

The benefit of doing this is that you can release some of the wealth tied up in your property without needing to sell your home and potentially downsize. 

You should consider several important things before you release equity tied up in your property. For instance, if you use a “lifetime mortgage”, you’ll typically repay the interest that accrues and the original value of the loan when your home is eventually sold, or you pass away. 

This could affect your children’s inheritance, as the interest roll-up means there may be less equity in your home than your children expect. 

It’s important to remember that equity release will typically reduce the value of your estate and can affect your eligibility for means-tested benefits, too. 

If you still like the sound of using equity release to fund your home improvements during retirement, it may be wise to seek professional financial advice beforehand. A financial adviser could help you determine how much you may need to borrow, and how this could affect the value of your estate after you die. 

Ultimately, we could help ensure that you aren’t over- or under-borrowing, and can advise you on the differences between lifetime mortgages and home reversions so you can make an informed decision about your financial future. 

Get in touch

If you wish to improve your home during retirement, but still aren’t sure which method of financing best suits you, then we can help. 

Please email us at hello@cordinerwealth.co.uk or call 0113 262 1242 to learn more. 

Please note 

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or other loans secured on it. Think carefully before securing other debts against your home.

Equity Release will reduce the value of your estate and can affect your eligibility for means-tested benefits.