June Is National Annuity Awareness Month

Reverse mortgage loans are widely misunderstood, and many homeowners and advisors have a strong negative bias against them. Unfortunately, those misconceptions and preconceptions hold back many ideal candidates from ever considering a reverse mortgage.

Today’s reverse mortgage loans are not the same as they were even a decade ago, and it is to your advantage as a trusted financial professional to take a fresh look at them, as they can often be a viable solution to many of the financial challenges that retirees face.

The aim of this piece is to help you understand both common, and somewhat less common, questions about reverse mortgages. Armed with the facts, you will have a much clearer picture of whether a reverse mortgage might be right for older-adult homeowners you advise.

Note: Most, but not all, reverse mortgages today are a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), the only reverse mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). This article refers only to the HECM reverse mortgage.

Today’s reverse mortgage loans have built-in protections designed to make sure the loan is a sustainable solution for the borrower. In this article, we’ll explore what a life expectancy set-aside (LESA) is, how it helps a borrower to pay property charges, when the lender’s underwriter will require it, and why, in some situations, it may be advantageous for a reverse mortgage borrower to voluntarily opt for a LESA.

You probably are well aware that the inflation rate in the U.S. has been hitting fresh 40-year records lately. But did you know divorce rates in the U.S. for older couples have been reaching new highs lately, too? In fact, for couples in the U.S. who are 65 and older, the divorce rate has tripled since the 1990s. The trend is called “Silver Divorce” or “Grey Divorce.”

For older adults who are divorcing, assets have likely been intertwined for decades, adding to the challenge of dividing them. Financial needs are sure to be top of mind, as both parties will need a means to support their own individual lifestyles throughout a potentially lengthy retirement period.

For homeowners 62 and older, a reverse mortgage could help as part of a divorce settlement.

In an advertising campaign in the 1980s, Heinz ketchup used the slogan “Good things come to those who wait.” For your clients who are in their 40s or 50s and yearn to get a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (or HECM, commonly called a reverse mortgage) loan, well, like the slow trickle of ketchup out of a glass bottle, they are going to have to let time do its thing and wait at least until they reach the minimum qualifying age of 62.

But let’s assume you have a client who is already 62 or better and wants to leverage his or her home equity one day via a reverse mortgage — should the wait to get one continue or is acting now the optimal strategy?

Here are three ways people 62 and older (working in tandem with their advisors) can incorporate reverse mortgages into sound retirement plans to potentially improve retirement outcomes.

When it comes to making savings last over a lengthy retirement period, retirees have no shortage of obstacles to contend with: soaring inflation, longer life expectancy, volatile markets, exuberant long-term care costs — the list goes on and on.

Home Equity and Reverse Mortgages have rarely been part of Financial Planning for retirement but since housing is typically the largest asset and the largest liability for the average American— it certainly makes sense to find out how it impacts the wealth accumulation phase and the retirement spending plan. Housing costs are usually the largest expense category throughout our lives except for those that are quite wealthy and then taxes become the biggest expense. And interestingly enough— housing costs can certainly affect income tax planning as well!   

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