Retirement Crisis

Retirement crisis – how to avoid your own Various reports have weighed in on whether America is facing a “retirement crisis.” One study found, for instance, that while just 8.8 percent of people currently age 65 and older are impoverished, 88 percent of Americans still believe the nation faces a retirement crisis. Sources of disagreement include whether…

3 Reasons to Pay Off Your Mortgage Great article came out today on Fox News, written by Motley Fool Most homeowners take out a mortgageOpens a New Window. to help them buy their homes, and for many, their mortgage loan is the largest debt they’ll ever take on. That makes handling mortgage debt one of the most…

‘New’ Reverse Mortgage vs HELOCs The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s latest changes to the reverse mortgage program have given rise to yet another “new” reverse mortgage — one with lower interest rates and ongoing insurance premiums that enable borrowers to preserve more of the equity in their homes. Some originators say the revised program…

Reverse Mortgage Qualifying. AARP Weighs in on the ‘New’ Reverse Mortgage Math The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s recent changes to the reverse mortgage program have garnered mixed reviews from the industry, as some laud the rules for helping seniors preserve more equity, while others lament the fact that fewer borrowers may be qualifying…

Would Your Retirement Plan Hold Up In Court Would Your Retirement Plan Hold Up In Court. Interesting story I found in Forbes. That was the question I was faced with recently when I was asked to be an expert witness. I enjoy doing this type of work, but it comes with a fair amount of…

Reverse Mortgages Make Sense for Retirement Funding Few, if any, retirees like the idea of going into debt to fund retirement. Yet with more and more households coming up short on cash savings, millions of retirees have turned to reverse mortgages as a source of retirement income. Although hardly ideal for financing retirement, reverse mortgages…

Tomorrow’s Retirees Face Shortfalls, But Reluctant to Explore HECMs Many studies have explored the ways in which current seniors find themselves ill-prepared for their retirement years, but a new analysis from Boston College finds that the picture looks even bleaker for future generations. The vast majority of households aged 65 and older reported not having…

Reducing Dementia Risk: New Treatment, and A Tried-and-True Remedy This is the age of health breakthroughs, such as a genetic treatment for a rare, inherited form of blindness. That’s wonderful for the comparatively small number of people affected. But what about a much more prevalent condition, currently afflicting five and a half million people —…

Reverse Mortgages could help resolve a big problem in a divorce. I bring this story because there is more of this reality than you could believe. Seniors getting a divorce has a name “Grey Divorce”. Even here in Birmingham, AL I was part of or know of 6 situations where the judge ordered a Reverse…

Underutilized retirement strategy Underutilized retirement strategy. Across the nation, thousands of seniors have used a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), commonly called a reverse mortgage loan, as savvy way to access the equity in their homes as part of their retirement strategy. But it still remains an underutilized retirement strategy with less than 10% of…