Have you considered sitting ER1?

With large companies such as Aviva reporting strong growth in the sale of equity release products and a drop in net platform inflows during Q3[1], now might be the right time to consider sitting the CII ER1 exam.

This article is correct as at 21 November 2022.

As we know, the cost of living is increasing, and this is resulting in investors already starting to change their behaviour when it comes to their money.

Equity release is the process through which equity can be released from one’s home, either as a lump sum or in several smaller payments or both. This can be an option for people who are aged 55-65 and up, who need to access money from their home but don’t want to sell their house.

There are two ways an individual can access money from their home through equity release – via a home reversion scheme or a lifetime mortgage. A lifetime mortgage is a mortgage taken out on the property, which is repaid with interest, upon the death of the homeowner and subsequent sale of the property. Home reversion allows the sale of all or some of the home to a reversion provider, with the ability to stay in the property for the rest of life.

The ER1 exam is the CII’s certificate in Equity Release, and this exam can be sat year-round. It is designed to ensure candidates develop an understanding of the different types of equity release products, associated consumer risks, and available equity solutions according to client circumstances. It is a 2-hour exam which is a level 3 award and is worth 15 CII credits. It contains multiple-choice questions, followed by 5 case studies. The nominal pass mark for this exam is 70%, and it has one of the highest pass rates of 93% in 2021 [2].

[1] aviva.com/newsroom/news-releases/2022/11/Q32022-trading-update/

[2] https://shop.ciigroup.org/equity-release-er1–er1.html

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