FUTUREPROOF has announced a major joint venture with a consortium led by prominent banking professional, fintech entrepreneur and co-founder of the Australia’s first neobank, Volt Bank, Luke Bunbury. The partnership establishes FUTUREPROOF RETIREMENT, a new, jointly owned mortgage lender dedicated to launching and scaling the Equity Preservation Mortgage® in Australia.
John Innes, Co-Founder and Director of Futureproof said, “We are delighted to partner with Luke Bunbury and his experienced team to bring our Equity Preservation Mortgage® to the Australian market. The global retirement funding gap is widening yet there are no new products to assist the asset-rich cash-poor. Traditional options such as reverse mortgages and shared appreciation mortgages currently available to older Australians deplete their equity in their largest financial asset, their home. This creates inter-generational unfairness as their children are left without inheritance of home wealth, leaving them unable to enter the housing market. The Equity Preservation Mortgage® solves these problems entirely.
“Mr Bunbury’s strong banking experience at St George and Challenger with deep mortgage and funding expertise will ensure we are perfectly positioned to establish our new non-bank lender as a trusted, transformative force in the retirement and aged care funding market.”
Operating as a specialised non-bank lender in Australia, FUTUREPROOF RETIREMENT will hold end-to-end responsibility for the retail origination, issuance and ongoing servicing of the Equity Preservation Mortgage® direct to consumers.
Mr Bunbury commented, “This joint venture with FUTUREPROOF presents a unique opportunity to address one of the most pressing economic and social challenges of our time, not only in Australia, but globally.
“For too long, the Australian market has lacked a fit-for-purpose mortgage instrument that responsibly delivers fixed term annuity income of up to 2% of the home value per year for 10 to 15 years, without eroding the value of the underlying property and safeguarding inter-generational home wealth transfer.”
The Reserve Bank of Australia estimated that at end of 2025 Australian households held roughly $1.2 trillion in net owner‑occupier equity representing a new capital pool to fund retirement and aged care in Australia.
Luke Bunbury added, “Research undertaken by FUTUREPROOF has found that 56% of Australian retirees own their own home but are under-funded for their retirement – that’s 2.5Mn people who will benefit from the Equity Preservation Mortgage®.”
As part of the venture, Mr. Bunbury will join the Executive Management Team of FUTUREPROOF as its Chief Commercial Officer while simultaneously stepping into the role of interim CEO for the new joint venture entity, FUTUREPROOF RETIREMENT.
Following several years of product development and $5M in R&D investment by FUTUREPROOF, the Equity Preservation Mortgage® is scheduled for launch in the Australian market in December this year.
