Spry Finance launches the Green Lifetime Loan for over-60s

11 January, 2023

Available for homes with B3 energy rating or better, or to retrofit homes with worse rating
Discounted interest rate means €7,810 saving on €100,000 loan over 15 years

Spry Finance has launched a new lifetime loan¹ product for those aged over 60 who have an energy efficient home – or are planning to invest in achieving one.

The Green Lifetime Loan is designed to make it easier for older people to retrofit their home and save money on their heating and electricity bills, while living more sustainably.

It is available to people aged over 60 whose home has a Building Energy Rating (BER) of B3 or better. It is also available to those whose home has a worse rating, so long as they commit to undertaking works to achieve B3 certification within 12 months of the loan being agreed, or commit to spending 50% of their loan on qualifying home energy efficiency improvements in that time frame whether or not they achieve a B3 rating.

Spry Finance Green lifetime mortgage loan - fund home improvements with government grants

The Green Lifetime Loan carries an interest rate of 6.25% – a reduction of 0.2% from the standard Spry Finance lifetime loan – which equates to a saving of €7,810 over 15 years for the average Spry Finance customer with a €100,000 lifetime loan.

David Brady, Director of Business Development for Spry Finance, said Spry Finance is rolling out the Green Lifetime Loan to meet demand from an age demographic, the over-60s, which is under-served by traditional financial institutions, yet has a proven interest in home improvements and addressing the issue of energy conservation.

“We know from talking to our own customers that home improvements are high on their list of reasons for taking out a lifetime loan,” Mr Brady said. “We also know, from independent consumer research, that the over-55s believe themselves to be living more sustainably than their younger counterparts do (16–54-year-olds)².

“At Spry Finance, we don’t see any reason why the over-60s should be excluded from green loans. Our new Green Lifetime Loan makes it easier and more cost-effective for our customers to take advantage of the grants that are available to upgrade the BER of their home. It also rewards those who have already done so.

“It’s the same customer-focused service and the same loan raised against the value of the property – with a choice of whether to make repayments or not. The only difference is that it costs less in recognition of the fact that it’s about making a home more energy-efficient and therefore more environmentally friendly.

“We believe it is Ireland’s easiest green loan – one which could save customers hundreds of euros each year in loan interest costs, while also reducing heating and electricity costs.”

¹B&A Spry Finance Lifetime Loan is a home equity release product available to those aged over 60.
²B&RED C Sustainability Monitor Environmental Attitudes and Behaviours in Ireland November 2022.