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New research conducted at the recent LV= equity release road shows, reveals that IFAs believe equity release is set to become a big growth area for their future business, to help deal with the needs of the UK’s ageing population.

Research showed that nearly all (98%) of them believe that there will be a surge in consumers using equity release over the next few years. 35% of the IFAs that attended said that equity release is already a core part of their business.

New research from Halifax reveals that Brits are not looking after the pennies when it comes to making the most of loose change. Two thirds of Brits (65%) regularly find loose change in a variety of places which could be put to better use.

With the average Brit thinking they have £1.61 in loose change down the back of the sofa, we could literally be sitting on £42.9million across the nation.

If you own more than one property, the taxman is employing some shadowy tactics to ensure you pay enough tax. Here John Fitzsimons, Personal Finance Editor at lovemoney.com exposes the secret way the taxman is watching landlords.

The Budget was a bit, well, underwhelming really wasn’t it?

A new study reveals that a fifth (17%) of over 50s have little money left over to enjoy their retirement once they have paid off their debts and more than two fifths (41%) of retirees find clearing their debts difficult, highlighting how hard it is for many people to fund their dream retirement.

However, an increasing number of over 60s are now using equity release to unlock money so they can enjoy a better quality of life in retirement.

Recession-struck Brits admit they would consider making a false home insurance claim, with almost 402,000 confessing they have successfully faked a claim already, according to research from moneysupermarket.com.

Britain's number one comparison site found 2.4 million Brits, or six per cent, are willing to consider making a false claim on their home insurance, this compares to five per cent in August 2009, showing that in just over seven months around 500,000 more people are thinking about submitting a dodgy claim.

Retired homeowners have total property wealth owned outright of up to £765.18billion as the housing market continues its fragile recovery, according to research from equity release adviser Key Retirement Solutions.

The launch of Key Retirement Solutions’ Pensioner Property Equity Index, which will track the property wealth of the over-65s on a quarterly basis, shows that a third of the housing wealth is concentrated in London and the South East.

After the buy-to-let investment boom, the man on the street could soon be investing in a piece of large-scale rented housing developments funded by institutions and listed property firms.

The British Property Federation (BPF) has led an on-going campaign for reform of stamp duty rules which it says act as a huge disincentive.

As Government borrowings are expected to top £180billion for the current financial year an incoming Government, of any colour, is going to have to look at ways of increasing revenue and decreasing expenditure, according to Simon Dixon Smith of Savills, Chelmsford.

He said the latter was limited by political acceptability and so increasing revenue was inevitable.

The amount of households seeking a lodger increased 27% in the first two weeks of January, it is reported.

The number of live-in landlords advertising online for a lodger to help pay their mortgage costs jumped to 2487 from 1955, according to Spareroom.co.uk.

Equity release specialist Key Retirement Solutions said new plan numbers for 2009 were down 17% at 21,305 compared to 25,790 for 2008.

The statistics form part of the company's 2009 Equity Release Market Monitor.