By Charlotte Beugge

Equity release, traditionally used by elderly people to raise cash to boost their pensions or pay for home repairs, is being increasingly used to pay off debts, it is revealed.

Figures from advisers Responsible Equity Release, reported in specialist newspaper Financial Adviser, show that last year 36% of its equity release clients used the cash raised to pay off a mortgage compared with 31% in 2010.

In addition, 23% of its clients who took out equity release last year used the money raised to help younger family members with their debts or provide a deposit for a home. Another 16% used the money as a cash reserve to cover the cost of their rising utility bills.

Equity release is a way of homeowners aged 55 or over getting at some of the value of their home without having to move. The cash raised from the mortgage doesn't have to be repaid during the homeowner's lifetime, but instead it is paid back - with accumulated interest - when they die.

Steve Wilkie, managing director of Responsible Equity Release, said a combination of high levels of debt and rising inflation "has stretched many people's incomes to breaking point and the money tied up in our houses is providing a degree of relief".

He added that while five or six years ago most people taking out equity release did so to make their retirement more comfortable - paying for home improvements, boosting savings and even providing holidays - now a growing number of equity release plans were being used simply to make ends meet.