BY: Rodney Brooks, Coloradoan November 5, 2014
It was different back in the day. You worked 30 years, got a watch and a pension. Your health care was probably provided by your company’s retiree insurance plan, or even your union.
And a highlight of retirement was the ceremonial burning of the mortgage as mom and dad began retirement debt-free.
That’s how our parents did it. But there’s no chance we’ll see anything like that. As they say, it’s not your father’s retirement anymore.
Today, your pension has likely been replaced by a company-sponsored 401(k) plan that, mostly, you fund yourself. Few companies offer health insurance for retirees anymore, and those who still do are eliminating or scaling back.
And your mortgage? Increasingly, Americans are going into retirement with big debt, especially mortgage debt.
“More people are carrying mortgages into retirement,” says Katherine Dean, senior vice president of wealth planning at Wells Fargo Private Bank.
According to a new report, Baby Boomers & Their Homes: On Their Own Terms,released last week by The Demand Institute, a think tank jointly operated by The Conference Board and Nielsen, Baby Boomers are carrying much more mortgage debt than earlier generations at this life stage.
And 40 percent were planning major home improvement projects over the next year, which would increase that debt.
Other findings of the survey of more than 4,000 Boomer households (ages 50-69):
• For Boomer movers, the common wisdom says to downsize. But most are actually looking for nicer homes and more space, not less. In fact, 45 percent of movers will upsize, and 56 percent of those who plan to move will take out a new mortgage.
• Meanwhile, most Boomers who currently own their own houses still owe money on those homes. The median outstanding mortgage balance for a 50- to 69- year-old household has grown 142 percent since 1992.
So, the big question for those looking at retirement: Should you pay off your mortgage when you retire?
And the answer is: It depends.
“There is no yes or no answer. It depends on the individual situation,” says Dean. “The reason we see more people carrying mortgages into retirement is not by choice. It’s their inability to pay if off, and undersaving for retirement.”
“There’s a lot of reason to continue to take a mortgage into your retirement years if you benefit from the tax rates and you have enough income. You wouldn’t necessarily be in a hurry to pay that off, especially if you have a low interest rate,” Dean said.
Jeff Warnkin, financial adviser at JL Smith Group in Avon, Ohio, says even though there is no right or wrong answer, he prefers clients to pay off their mortgage.
“I’m in favor of paying off the mortgage, as long as it doesn’t come at the expense of funding your 401(k), Roth IRA and things of that nature,” he says.
Still, he says, It is not a standalone decision. It should be part of a larger plan.
“Ideally, I’d like to see the last payment coincide with the date you retire,” he said. “A fair number, 50 percent of our retirees, achieve that. But, as life unfolds, sometimes people have to take a home equity line, or help a child with a down payment on a house, medical issues, and sometimes they arrive at or near retirement with a mortgage.”
