Need to make sure that with equity release you are not receiving means tested benefits such as pension credit and the other associated reliefs eg reduced community charge, warm home etc. and you therefore no longer qualify now or in the future due to savings qualifications etc.
Sometimes it is better to downsize to a smaller more efficient house, we had a similar discussion with my mother who lived in a large detached house. However family connections and memories can run very strong, it was the house my Grandfather built, my Father was born in and 3 of her children were born in. So no way would my mother leave, to go into a local a warden purpose built for the elderly ,property designed for independent living which would have suited her needs and circumstances.
You are not alone in having suffered wage restraint, most of the unskilled or low skilled jobs have for decades seen no wage growth and that was nothing to do with bankers just oversupply in the work force, caused by in many instances uncontrolled migration
