Hodge

Hodge is a UK bank that lends through mortgages and takes savings deposits, and it is best known for two things: savings accounts run entirely online, and mortgages for circumstances many high street lenders steer clear of, including retirement lending and holiday lets. It trades as Hodge Bank and Hodge, and previously operated under the name Hodge Lifetime¹. It has been a bank since long before the internet: the firm behind it was incorporated in 1962².

Since 2024 Hodge has been an online-only bank, with no branches and no postal or telephone management of savings accounts³. Savings customers open and run their accounts through its website and online banking portal, while mortgage customers can still call a support team during the week⁴. Eligible deposits are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to £120,000⁵.

Hodge savings accounts: easy access, notice, fixed rate bonds and cash ISAs

Hodge's savings range covers the main types most savers want: an easy access account, notice accounts, fixed rate bonds and cash ISAs. The Hodge Easy Access account is a flexible savings account with a variable interest rate and no fixed term, opened and managed online, and you can open multiple easy access accounts for different savings goals⁷. Notice accounts also allow additional deposits, as long as the money comes from your nominated current account⁸.

Fixed rate bonds and cash ISAs work differently: you have 14 days from the date you open the account to pay money in, and after that 14-day window no further deposits are accepted⁶. On the ISA side, Hodge offers only cash ISAs. You can hold one Fixed Rate Cash ISA with Hodge per tax year, and it does not offer other types of ISAs, Junior ISAs or cash ISAs for under 18s⁶. Early access to a Fixed Rate Cash ISA is possible only as a full withdrawal and account closure, not a partial withdrawal, and an exit fee is charged for access before the end of the fixed-rate period⁹.

If you are weighing these types against each other, the general differences between easy access, notice and fixed term accounts are explained in the guide to savings accounts, and the rules on allowances and transfers are covered in the guide to ISAs.

Hodge mortgages: residential, retirement, holiday let and buy to let

Hodge's mortgage business is where it is best known. Its tariff of fees and charges covers three families of lending: Residential, Holiday Buy To Let and Retirement mortgages¹⁰. Within those families it lends on standard residential purchases, retirement lending for people who have stopped work or are about to, and holiday lets that are let out to paying guests. Its moving home process, for example, covers Hodge Resi Retire, Retirement Interest Only and Hodge Resi Mortgages¹¹.

Retirement lending is a large part of what Hodge does, and it is one of the reasons the firm was previously called Hodge Lifetime¹. Its retirement mortgages include interest only options, and its flexible repayment option allows up to 12 overpayments a year within the maximum overpayment limit. On the roll-up version of its retirement mortgage, where interest is added to the balance rather than paid monthly, Hodge states that you can repay the mortgage in part or in full at any time with no early repayment charges, because the roll-up sits on the standard variable rate⁴.

Hodge also handles changes to existing mortgages: additional borrowing, transfers of equity, porting a mortgage to a new property and mortgage term changes¹². How each of these works, and what they cost, is covered in the sections below. The basics of how mortgages work, including the difference between repayment and interest only, are in the guide to mortgages, and the process of buying is covered in buying a home.

Who can get a Hodge mortgage, and why advice is required

Hodge sells its mortgages through financial advisers rather than directly to the public, and advice is a requirement, not a suggestion, for several of its products. Hodge states that it is essential to obtain financial advice before applying, because it is important to consider all options on the market⁴. For additional borrowing the answer is explicit: you must take advice, and you must apply to borrow more money through an independent financial adviser¹³. If you do not have an adviser, Hodge points to Unbiased.co.uk as a place to start your search¹⁰.

The advice requirement also depends on your stage of life. If you are already retired, or if your new mortgage term would take you into retirement, you must take financial advice for a term change¹⁰, and the same rule applies when moving home¹¹. Advice may cost you money: Hodge notes that if you need to take financial advice, you may need to pay your adviser for the cost of providing it¹⁰.

There is one route that does not require advice, and it comes with a trade-off. When your fixed-rate deal ends, you can switch to a new Hodge rate on an execution-only basis, by completing a Rate Switch application form that includes an Execution Only Declaration confirming you chose to proceed without advice¹⁴. Hodge does not require credit or affordability checks for a rate switch, and the new deal must come from the same product family¹⁴. Because no adviser assessed whether the change suits you, a complaint about the suitability of the change cannot later be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service, and FSCS compensation cannot be claimed in relation to the change itself¹⁴. The same limits apply to a mortgage term change made without advice¹⁰.

Lifetime mortgages and switching to another provider

Hodge's past name, Hodge Lifetime, reflects a history in equity release: lifetime mortgages are loans secured on your home that are usually repaid when you die or move into long term care, with interest either paid monthly or rolled up into the balance. Some products allow payments to be made to reduce the impact of this roll up, and many lifetime mortgages now have a facility that allows payments to be made, which can alleviate the impact of interest¹⁵.

If you have a lifetime mortgage, you are not locked into it. Switching is possible, either by moving to a different scheme with your existing provider or to another provider altogether, and it should be done with a suitably qualified adviser¹⁵. Which? makes the same point: if you have a lifetime mortgage you have the option to move to another provider, or to stick with the same provider but move to a different scheme¹⁶. Switching is usually done to reduce the interest rate, and the Equity Release Council warns that fees are payable to the provider financing the plan, which may be described as application or administration fees¹⁷.

Two protections are worth knowing about. Under the Equity Release Council's standards, customers must be allowed the opportunity to move to a suitable alternative property and transfer their lifetime mortgage, subject to lending criteria at the time of the move¹⁸. Separately, under the Mortgage Charter, customers who are up to date with payments can switch to a new mortgage deal with their lender at the end of their existing fixed-rate agreement without a new affordability check¹⁹.

Hodge fees and charges: how switching, moving home and term changes are priced

Hodge does not publish a single simple price list on its product pages; instead, each mortgage change has its own charging structure, and the current figures sit in its Tariff of Charges document, which covers Residential, Holiday Buy To Let and Retirement mortgages¹⁰. How the charges work is consistent across the changes, and it is worth knowing the pattern before you apply.

A rate switch at the end of a deal is the cheapest route. There are no legal fees when you switch mortgages with Hodge, and no credit or affordability checks are required, but you will need to pay any product fee associated with your new deal, and new Early Repayment Charges may apply on it¹⁴. Exiting your current deal before its end date may itself incur an Early Repayment Charge¹⁴. A valuation fee may also be payable, for example if there has been a significant change in property value affecting the loan to value¹⁴. The rate is secured on receipt of the application, and if rates fall you can request a new offer document on the lower rate before your rate switch deadline; an offer document is valid for three months¹⁴.

Moving home costs more to arrange. You pay Hodge's administration costs for transferring the mortgage to the new property when you submit your application, and that fee is non-refundable even if the application does not go ahead; you also pay both Hodge's legal costs and your own¹¹. For context on the wider bill, independent estimates put the average cost of moving in 2026 at £13,018, based on buying and selling an averagely priced UK house of £292,000, with mortgage fees of around £1,000 and mortgage valuation fees of around £150 on top of everything else²⁰. Hodge's porting rules also matter: it only accepts applications for properties bought and sold on the same day, and if the new property is worth less you may have to repay part of your loan, though no early repayment charges apply if Hodge asks you to repay some of the loan¹¹.

A term change sits in between. Hodge carries out an affordability assessment, which includes reviewing your chosen repayment vehicle, and you pay its administration costs once the change in term has been confirmed; a valuation fee may also be payable²¹. The process takes around two months from Hodge receiving the application form¹⁰. For additional borrowing, it takes a few weeks to issue the mortgage offer once the application and fees are received, depending on how quickly the updated property valuation comes back¹³.

Hodge is online only: managing savings and mortgages without branches

Hodge made the move to be a fully online bank in 2024, and it says it did so in response to customer feedback, to give customers a simple and secure way to manage their money³. In practice this means savings accounts are opened and run through the website and online banking portal, and can no longer be managed offline by phone, email or letter³. Reinvestment instructions at maturity cannot be accepted by phone either, so online banking is the only way to manage a maturing account²².

There is a transitional arrangement for customers who were used to paper. If you do not have online banking, Hodge will keep sending your statements and documents by post until your account matures; after that, online banking is required to keep saving with Hodge³. Savings deposits are made by electronic bank transfer only: Hodge does not accept deposits by cheque or banker's draft⁶.

Mortgage customers are not cut off from the phone in the same way. Hodge's mortgage support line is 0800 731 4076, savings customers can call 0800 028 3746, and the lines are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm²³. The phone teams can talk through your account and answer questions, but the account actions themselves, such as opening a savings account or reinvesting at maturity, happen online²².

Opening a Hodge savings account and funding it from a nominated current account

Every Hodge savings account is tied to a nominated account, and the rules around it shape how you use the account. Your nominated account must be a UK current account held in your own name, and not a savings account⁸. Only deposits from that nominated account are accepted, and withdrawals are returned to it⁷. The same rule applies to the cash ISA: deposits come from the nominated current account and all payments go back to it²⁴.

Opening the account is done online. When you set up your first payment, you add Hodge as a payee using your own full name as the payee name, with the payment reference "Hodge Bank" and the account type set to personal, then enter your Hodge savings account details⁸. Deposits must come from your nominated current account, which has to be a UK current account rather than a savings account, and withdrawals are returned to it⁸. Faster Payments are used for amounts under £100,000, and larger transfers are made by CHAPS⁶.

The funding window depends on the account type. Easy access accounts take deposits at any time, and you can open several of them for different savings goals⁷. Fixed rate bonds and cash ISAs give you 14 days from opening to pay money in, with no further deposits after that⁶. If you hold power of attorney and are opening an account for someone else, you complete the online application first, then return a form to Hodge with a copy of the power of attorney document²⁵.

What happens when a Hodge fixed rate bond or cash ISA matures

Hodge contacts you three times before a fixed term ends, so a maturing account should not come as a surprise. It writes or emails 90 days before your maturity date, sends another reminder 30 days before with instructions on what to do next, and a final reminder 14 days before the account matures²². For fixed rate bonds and cash ISAs it also emails at least 14 days before the end of the fixed term with your options⁶.

Instructions are given through the online banking portal, no later than the last working day before your maturity date, and you can change them up until that same deadline²². If the interest rate is higher on the day your account matures than when you chose your reinvestment, you automatically get the higher of the two rates²². The funding windows then restart: a fixed rate account chosen at reinvestment gives you 14 calendar days from opening to add more money, an Easy Access account takes deposits any time, and a cash ISA can take money from this year's ISA allowance within 14 calendar days of opening²².

The important thing to know is what happens if you do nothing. Your balance is moved into a maturity holding account, which pays Hodge's lowest interest rate and is not designed for long term use²². Your money is not lost and remains FSCS protected, but it will not be working hard for you there, so it is worth making a decision before the deadline.

Bereavement, long term care and power of attorney at Hodge

Hodge has a dedicated process for families, covering customers who held either a savings account or a mortgage²⁶. It provides a downloadable guide covering notifying and confirming a death, what happens to accounts, redeeming a mortgage and accessing savings²⁶. For savings customers, the money in the account is sent to the customer's estate, which then closes the account; for mortgage customers, the account needs to be redeemed, meaning the mortgage must be repaid²⁵. Hodge can also pay the funeral director directly from the deceased person's account, without waiting for the money to be released through the estate²⁶.

Outside Hodge, the government's Bereavement Service can cancel the person's benefits and entitlements, including their State Pension, and check whether you are eligible for help with funeral costs or other benefits²⁷.

Power of attorney works differently depending on where in the UK the property or account is. For properties and accounts in England and Wales, the document must be an Enduring Power of Attorney produced before 1 October 2007, or a registered Lasting Power of Attorney (property and affairs) for documents dated after 1 October 2007. For Scotland, it must be a Continuing Power of Attorney including a certificate signed by a solicitor, a practising member of the faculty of advocates, or a medical practitioner²⁵. Registering power of attorney or deputyship with Hodge can take up to a month once it has your documents; setting up a simpler third party authority takes up to a week²⁵. Someone holding power of attorney or deputyship through the Court of Protection may be able to apply for new or additional borrowing, but this has to be through an independent financial adviser²⁵.

Complaints, fraud support and how Hodge customers' money is protected

Hodge publishes practical fraud advice. If you believe you have been a victim of fraud or hacking, it says to change the email address and all passwords linked to your Hodge account, and it will never ask you to share your password with you²⁸. If a protective registration has been placed on your credit file, Hodge carries out further due diligence to check that applications match the registration details, and may call you to confirm you have full knowledge of the application²⁸. Hodge also works with external fraud prevention partners, monitoring suspicious activities such as phishing attempts, impersonation attempts and any unauthorised use of its brand²⁸.

Hodge also has a financial abuse support process for customers who need to deal with their bank safely. It includes talking through your account, sending statements or information to a safe address, adding a trusted third party to help manage your account with your consent, helping if you are struggling to keep up with mortgage payments, offering flexible communication options, and signposting to specialist support organisations²³.

If you cannot resolve a complaint with Hodge directly, the Financial Ombudsman Service can look at it. In reaching a decision, the ombudsman considers the relevant law, any regulations and industry codes of conduct that applied at the time, along with correspondence including the final response, payment records and your credit file²⁹. One limit to remember from earlier in this page: if you made a mortgage change without advice, you cannot refer a complaint about the suitability of that change to the ombudsman¹⁴.

On protection of your money itself, eligible deposits with Hodge Bank are protected up to a total of £120,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme⁵. The FSCS covers deposits in current accounts, savings accounts, cash ISAs and savings bonds³⁰. The limit is per person per banking licence, not per account, so all your Hodge savings count together towards the £120,000. Hodge is authorised by the FCA (reference 204439) with permissions to accept deposits and enter into regulated mortgage contracts as lender¹, and it appears on the Bank of England's list of UK banks authorised to accept deposits³¹. It is an active company, incorporated in 1962².