Mortgages don’t have to be for life.
Boston Condos for Sale and Apartments for Rent
Mortgages don’t have to be for life.
I used to read articles about retirement. I stopped reading because they are mostly about money (There is never enough, and we should all be afraid) or about staying healthy (We all age and we die no matter how great our diet is and how much exercise we get)
It is very rare to see an article about retirement that differentiates between people who own their Back Bay condo mortgage-free and those who rent or pay a mortgage. I don’t have any proof, but I believe that people who own a home free and clear can survive on a smaller income than those who pay rent or mortgage.
Sometimes I meet retirees who live on Social Security checks in homes they own free and clear, and seem to do just fine. They don’t appear to be wealthy, but they aren’t eating cat food either.
The Unspoken Truth
More Americans aging into retirement are still paying down mortgages. Over the past three decades, the share of homeowners ages 65 to 79 with a mortgage rose from 24% to 41%. More older adults are entering retirement in debt, including mortgage debt.
- National Council on Aging states that just over 79% of older Americans were homeowners in 2022.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 40% of homes in the country were mortgage-free last year. That means more than 34 million homeowners have fully paid off their mortgage, leaders at the National Association of Home Builders said in a recent report.
Maybe you can’t save up and invest enough money to have a million dollars for your retirement. Maybe you can limp along with less if you can retire debt-free.
There are ways to pay down a mortgage. One way is to pay extra on the principal each month. Refrain from borrowing more against your home as the equity builds.
Owning a home free and clear in retirement might make it easier to stretch that Social Security check a little further.
Mortgages don’t have to be for life.
