The equity release sector has had a record-breaking start to 2015 with total lending up 3% year-on-year.
It achieved this despite the potential uncertainty created by the new pension freedoms that came into effect earlier this month.
The average equity release withdrawal topped £66,700, a 4% increase from the final quarter of last year, according to new figures from the Equity Release Council published today.
That is the highest value recorded for the first quarter of the year, despite low inflation and the cost of living slowdown.
The Council believes this is a sign that households are still struggling with their finances.
There were almost 5,000 new customers in Q1 2015, a 2% increase from the same period last year.
Nigel Waterson, chairman of the Equity Release Council, said: "These figures show that the appetite for equity release continues to grow despite the potential uncertainty to peoples' financial planning decisions caused by the recent pension freedom reforms."
Equity release adviser Key Retirement is forecasting another record year for the market, as pension freedom highlights the role of property wealth in retirement planning.
Dean Mirfin, technical director at Key Retirement, said: "The figures announced today show continued growth, both in the levels of equity being released and in the number of consumers releasing equity from their homes in order to secure as comfortable a retirement as possible. We expect this trend to continue throughout 2015."
The average Key Retirement customer released around £66,500 from their homes in the first three months of the year, which Mirfin said can prove life-changing in meeting the costs of retirement. "Our analysis shows the average pensioner needs £11,200 a year just to fund the basics."
Helen Davies, head of implementation at Partnership, noted that first-quarter figures were 13% down on the final quarter of last year, with total equity release lending falling from £365.7 million to £325.7 million.
"This is down to the impact of the festive season rather than any cause for concern.
"If you compare Q1 2015 to Q1 2014 when lending totalled £315.5 million, you will see that the market has grown 3.23% year on year which is clear evidence of a vibrant active market."
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