The Intermediary – August 2026 - Flipbook - Page 39
I N P RO F I L E
Adviser confidence
If changing customer perceptions is one challenge,
building adviser confidence is another. For
Hayton, improving this confidence begins with
increased education.
He explains: “Making the exams part of the
standard mortgage qualification journey would
be a helpful stepping stone to building adviser
confidence, certainly in the non-specialist firms.”
In his view, confidence grows through
experience, with advisers often discovering that
later life cases are far less daunting than they
initially anticipated.
He says: “Once you’ve done one lifetime
mortgage, and you understand some of the
nuances of the process, then being able to manage
customer expectations through that process
means you’ll get really great outcomes at the end
of the day. In turn, you’ll actually probably enjoy
working with this particular demographic.”
Pure Retirement itself has invested in resources
designed to help advisers engage with older
borrowers more confidently.
Hayton explains: “Our marketing toolkit is built
around how to engage with this particular market
if you’re not already familiar with it. It’s about
helping brokers get a handle on how to generate
leads, how to market to this demographic and
supporting those initial conversations with helpful
product information.”
Continued innovation
The growing importance of later life lending
reflects a broader shift in the way people are
approaching retirement.
Hayton notes: “We’re all facing worries around
retirement income, particularly with the cost
of living remaining high and uncertainty over
what support people may be able to rely on in
the future. All those things mean that, if you’re a
property owner, then a later life product should be
part of that retirement planning.”
While product flexibility has improved
significantly in recent years, Hayton believes
a more diverse funding market will encourage
lenders to continue evolving their propositions.
He says: “Market growth will mean more funders
and more people interested in the product.
I’m hoping for that shift where there’s greater
diversification, greater market growth driving
competitiveness and meaning everyone needs to
be offering something innovative to compete.”
Use of technology
Alongside product innovation, Hayton believes
technology will continue to play an increasingly
important role in improving both the adviser and
customer experience. Rather than automating
decisions, Hayton says the aim is to remove
administrative burden and allow teams to spend
more time supporting advisers and customers.
He says: “We have an AI driven lending criteria
assistant on our broker-facing website that
supports advisers with criteria questions. We
also have an underwriting AI assistant in test
at the moment, which means we’re reviewing
valuations quicker.
“It’s not taking away the human decisionmaking part of the process, but it is allowing our
underwriters to work through cases quicker, spend
a little bit more time on the interactions with both
the consumer and the adviser, which in turn is
going to create better outcomes.”
The same principle underpins Pure Retirement’s
wider investment in digital services, giving
customers greater flexibility over how they engage
with the lender while maintaining access to
personal support.
Hayton adds: “We absolutely offer a telephone
solution, but it’s about being available to
consumers on both fronts, whatever their
preference is.
“We’re not taking away that one-to-one
conversation with one of our team, but there are
certain things you can absolutely do online, 24/7.
“It needs to be an improvement in service for
consumers. It should add value into the journey
to make it smoother, but also create those
touchpoints where you can talk to someone.”
Long-term plans
Despite the current challenges, Hayton remains
optimistic about the long-term outlook for later
life lending. While he is cautious about predicting
exactly when conditions will improve, he believes
the sector’s long-term direction is clear.
“I’m very optimistic,” he says. “I wouldn’t put a
timescale on it, but I am very optimistic.”
For Pure Retirement, the priority is to ensure
the business is well positioned when demand
strengthens again, while continuing to build on the
reputation it has already established.
Hayton says: “We want to maintain our status
as a great company to deal with. There’s a point
when the need of consumers out there will start to
match our appetite for lending, and we’ll be able to
capitalise on that.”
Yet for that potential to translate into greater
take-up, Hayton believes the industry still needs to
challenge long-held assumptions.
He concludes: “It’s not a last resort. It’s part of
the suite of things that will make for a happier
retirement. That’s really what I’m looking forward
to: that inevitable growth when it comes and being
ready for it.”
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