Mortgage support benefit cuts will affect protection advisers

Advisers should be aware of key changes to Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI), the Income Protection Task Force (IPTF) has warned. The welfare and benefits changes within the emergency budget relate to switching of a benefit to a loan against a property and increasing the waiting period for JSA and ESA claimants - which will have ramifications for the way benefit is provided. The SMI changes, which have been flagged by the Council of Mortgage Lenders as the most significant changes in the mortgages in the budget, may have been overlooked by advisers, key members of the industry belie...