How Did Reverse Mortgages Get Such a Bad Reputation?
Before discussing how reverse mortgages can fit into your retirement income plan, it is worthwhile to first consider in greater detail the bad reputation reverse mortgages have developed.
Wise Reverse Mortgages Can Be a Saving Grace for Retirees
If, after considering other housing options, you have decided to remain in an eligible home or to move into a new home, you may want to consider a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) – more commonly known as a reverse mortgage – as a source of retirement income.
Should You Downsize in Retirement?
One method for freeing home equity for other uses is to downsize your home as a part of moving. Downsizing could mean either moving to a smaller home, or moving into a similar-sized home in a less expensive community.
The Importance of Planning for Long-Term Care
Long-term care spending represents one of the most severe spending shocks that can impact retirees.
Potential Directions for Social Security
A common argument for claiming Social Security early is that the program is about to be dramatically overhauled, but it seems rather unlikely that any impending reforms would leave near retirees with significant reductions to benefits.
Arguments for Claiming Social Security Early
Believe it or not, legitimate arguments exist for claiming Social Security early.
Philosophy of Social Security Claiming Strategies
Social Security claiming strategies can be extremely complicated. Treaties on this topic, some of which are listed in the table below, provide page after page of details, nuances, and exceptions.
Calculating Social Security Retirement Benefits
I will discuss the philosophy of claiming strategies later, but first, it is meaningful to first consider how retirement benefits are calculated.
The Social Security Administration has now followed the same approach for calculating benefits since 1979.
Introducing the Social Security Claiming Decision
For the vast majority of Americans, Social Security benefits serve as the core of a retirement income strategy. As a government-backed, inflation-adjusted monthly income for life, Social Security benefits help to manage longevity risk, inflation risk, and market risk.
A Brief History of Social Security
Recipients of Social Security benefits today are not just retirees – they’re disabled workers, spouses and young children of deceased or disabled workers, and the spouses and survivors of retirees. This was not always the case.
