Is the FCA changing the face of mortgages?

This changes represents a full 180 degree pirouette by both the regulator and leading lenders.

The lending squeeze post-2008 saw older borrowers unfairly targeted as a reaction to frivolous non-status loans.

In effect, people who had paid their mortgages without problem for a lifetime were punished for daft lending decisions made by hopeless managers who threw money at those who could never afford to borrow.

Many of those coming up to retirement will have taken a repayment vehicle at the time they took out their loan. Often this will have been sold to them by the lender or its representative.

But it has fallen short and the gap has not been plugged. There are arguments that some borrowers have failed to address a shortfall that they knew was coming.

Many of those coming up to retirement will have taken a repayment vehicle at the time they took out their loan

But there are equally strong arguments that lenders and the financial advisers who sold the products did not do enough to alert their clients to the problem – especially in the early years of the endowment disaster.

Whatever the arguments, we are where we are – and a sensible solution was needed to make sure that people were not ejected from their homes while they could still afford interest payments. This, surely, is it.

By turning interest-only retirement lending into a mainstream enterprise the FCA has helped to trigger greater competition – and this should force down interest rates.

Equity release, with its extra costs, will no longer be the only option for those who need to continue borrowing into retirement.

Many of these borrowers will be very safe options. They often have a large amount of equity and a secure income from a pension.

Yes, there will be risks – the main ones being that the partner with the bigger pension dies or that care costs start to dig into the income of the borrowers.

But these risks are surely comparable with those faced by any lender who hands a mortgage to a young couple where one partner may stop or cut down on working or the cost of a growing family eats into the budget.

Be cautious with your data

I have been fascinated by the data sharing squabbles over Facebook. My reaction is: what did you expect? 

Facebook was worth $500bn (£351bn). Did you really think that this service was free and that no one had any interest in your data?

Many years ago I felt compelled to sign up when my older stepson went to university and my nephew went to Australia. Both enthused that it was a great way to stay in touch – though I never quite understood what was wrong with sending letters and using the telephone.

My initial surprise was that I was bombarded with "friend" requests from people I hardly knew.

It seems that in the digital age some people no longer know the difference between a friend, a colleague, an acquaintance and a business contact.

So, if over the years I have ignored your request, it is that I regard you as one of the latter three – sorry if you thought we were closer but I am sure you will get over it.

I am perhaps most astonished by people who publish holiday pictures while on holiday. 

Are their accounts open to ‘friends of friends’, I wonder, thereby announcing to the world that their home is probably empty and awaiting the attentions of the nearest burglar? Do insurance companies check for this when a claim is made?

My Facebook page, which I rarely go near, does not say where I live, where I was educated and I certainly will not tell you when I am on holiday. I like to keep my family life private. 

Auto-enrolment is no panacea

The Family Resources Data survey reveals that just 16 per cent of the self-employed saved for a pension through auto-enrolment in 2016/17; hardly surprising in a way as they are not eligible.

The self-employed have always presented a problem where pensions are concerned because irregular income streams could make them reluctant to commit to regular savings – especially when old-style schemes had such harsh penalties for those who stopped saving.

They often have other priorities such as investing in their business.

I do not see how auto-enrolment for the self-employed could work unless it is run via the National Insurance or tax system.

And that would surely be very unpopular.

This may be one case where our old friend education is the best weapon.

Tony Hazell writes for the Daily Mail's Money Mail section