If and when we get to retirement we have a lot to think about. Unfortunately, when working with advisors we might not get the full picture of all the options available to us for a number of reasons. One big reason why is not every 'advisor' really gives advice around all retirement topics. Plenty of advisors won't speak to social security, medicare, and housing wealth. Arguably, it's hard to discuss retirement WITHOUT considering these 3 very important topics and yet it still doesn't always happen!
If you are not working with a retirement expert or your advisor isn't having open conversations with you around housing wealth this is a simple way to get a feel for whether or not it may be time to consider a reverse mortgage as part of your housing wealth plan.
1. Your house is your largest asset. For many retirees the house represents a big portion of their overall wealth, nearly 2/3 of their wealth, believe it or not. If you find that your house is a large part of your overall wealth in retirement you really need to look at it as part of your plan and the reverse mortgage may be a great tool to make that wealth accessible to you.
2. You're worried about running out of money. The greatest fear people have in retirement? Running out of money. Oftentimes a reverse mortgage can help reduce that risk and that fear, BIG TIME. If you're not sleeping well at night and worried about this, it may be a good time to take a look at the reverse mortgage.
3. The gig economy is real. The gig economy also got hammered this past year. If you were relying on part time income to make ends meet in retirement and find yourself no longer employed, the reverse mortgage may be worth considering as an alternative to partial work. This is especially true if you struggle to find employment when you're at or near retirement.
4. Did you know that by deferring social security to full retirement age or age 70 you're guaranteed a rate of return on your income of over 6%. That's hard to beat and a lot of times it makes sense to push off taking social security, especially if your family tends to live a long life. The reverse mortgage can be a very good tool to help draw income from instead of social security. If you're struggling to figure out how to defer social security this may be a good time to consider the reverse mortgage.
5. Most of us face a very real risk of a long term care situation in retirement and the impact can be nothing short of devastating. If you don't have a plan in place for long term care costs the reverse mortgage may be a very good tool to use to protect against large financial shocks and it may be time to consider it.
