Pension release could be a cheaper option in early retirement than equity release, claims a pension adviser Portal Financial.
The firm said equity release debt typically doubled every ten years, while using the pension release option meant there was nothing to repay.
Portal Financial said using equity release to access £15,000 would cost over £42,000 in 15 years' time, but withdrawing the same sum from a pension would cost the equivalent of £23,000 over 15 years - assuming the sum compounds at 7% and 3% respectively.
It stressed that pension release was a more useful retirement tool and in many cases, particularly for younger clients.
Jamie Smith-Thompson, managing director at the firm, said: 'If a 55 year-old chooses equity release, and lives for another 30 years, the debt will be incredibly large, so we envisage equity release being more popular in the latter part of retirement funding where it usually makes much more financial sense.'