With many retirees, home equity is one of their largest assets. However, most retirees do not use their home equity to improve their retirement lifestyle.
In the past, the only home equity tools available to help retirees were Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOCs) and traditional reverse mortgages.
Fortunately, in 2015 government-insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) replaced traditional reverse mortgages, many of which, in our opinion, were misused.
HECMs can be used to:
- Create supplemental retirement income
- Create a pool of money to help pay for long-term care
- Act as a backup to portfolio withdrawals in case of a market selloff
HECMs are not easy to understand. We, therefore, have spent a considerable amount of time learning how to effectively use this new retirement financial planning tool.
A well-designed Retirement Income & Spending Plan that includes a HECM can add years of longevity to a retiree’s investment portfolio and lifetime retirement income.