Millions of Australians aged over 55 face home loan lending challenges, particularly around refinancing and obtaining home loans close to and post-retirement.

Together, 2.16m Australian households led by over 50s currently owe an estimated $600+ bn on their home loans.^[1] More than one-third of borrowers aged over 55 are paying interest rates on their home loans of more than 4%.^[2]

For most retirees, the pension is still their main income source^[3],  while one in four women and one in eight men reach the end of their employment with no superannuation at all.^[4]

As it prepares for launch in April 2022, Boomer Home Loans has already raised over $13m of capital, with investors including property management fintech entrepreneur Jindou Lee from HappyCo, former Fortescue Metals Group Chief Financial Officer Stephen Pearce, and former BNK Bank CEO Simon Lyons (who is also on the Board of Boomer Australia Limited).

Boomer Home Loans is in the process of developing its mortgage broker and aggregator offering and expects to launch to the B2B market in July/August 2022.

Following almost two years of discussions, Boomer is in the process of finalising terms with a large pension fund in relation to debt funding for its reverse mortgage loan book. The majority of Boomer Home Loans employees and most of the company’s major suppliers are also shareholders in the company.

The start-up is also in its Series B round where it aims to raise a further $4.3m.

Boomer Home Loans CEO Scott Phillips said the gap in financial services for people aged over 55 was a significant national problem.

“Millions of Australians enter retirement with the equity in their home being their most valuable asset and not enough in savings or super to support another 40 years of living costs, while many also commence retirement still paying off their home loan,” Mr. Phillips said.

“While the recent surge in Australian house prices has pushed household wealth to record highs, many older Australians are struggling to make ends meet.

“A lack of super or savings means many are scraping by week to week, while unexpected large expenses often force older Australians to sell their family home to access the capital they need.

“We know that mortgage brokers are trusted by millions of older Australians, writing two thirds of all residential mortgages across the country. We are investing in developing the right service for the broker and aggregator community as part of our go-to-market strategy.

“We believe that Australians over 55 deserve a better deal. They deserve a home loan lender that not only understands their unique needs but will help them plan and manage their finances in the lead-up to, and throughout, retirement.

“Boomer is Australia’s first over-55s specialist home loans provider and is here to change later-life lending for good.”

The need for better lending options for older Australians has been recognised by the Federal Government which recently relaunched the Home Equity Access Scheme which enables older Australians to draw a fortnightly payment using the equity in their home.

To support its growth ambitions, Boomer has launched a national advertising campaign to increase its workforce in preparation for launch.

The Perth-based fintech currently has a team of 30 people, with employees located in its Perth headquarter and Adelaide, and is looking to expand its workforce by 50% across the country to work closely with customers.

Boomer Home Loans will be launching to brokers in July / August 2022.

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[1] Illion Mortgage Nation Report 2020, https://www.illion.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Mortgage-Nation-Final-V6-Compressed.pdf
[2] Boomer Home Loans – Consumer Home Loan Survey 2021
[3] https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/retirement-and-retirement-intentions-australia/latest-release
[4] ASFA, Better-Retirement-Outcomes-a-snapshot-of-account-balances-in-Australia, 2019

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