After attending three different seminars, plus listening to umpteen radio ads about leaving six figures on the table when claiming Social Security benefits the “wrong way”, you’re still in a quandary as to the best route to take. With your planned retirement date (career curtain time”?) only six months away (you will have turned 68), you are weighing alternatives.
You lead an active social life, but have never married or even lived with anyone. While you offer occasional financial assistance to a sister, on an ongoing basis, you have only your own future needs to consider. You’ve owned your home outright for decades, taking pride in keeping both house and grounds in tip-top shape. As an avid vegetable gardener and amateur “gourmet chef”, you find this location to be a perfect fit for your solo lifestyle, offering ample space to entertain.
With no mortgage to pay, you believe you can support yourself using a combination of regular withdrawals from your investment account and from your 403(b) plan, with some income from the handyman jobs you do on a regular basis for a select group of neighbors. On the other hand, insurance premiums, on both your homeowners and your long term care policies, keep rising. You’re still not sure whether it makes sense to wait the two years before applying for Social Security benefits. Will the value of your 403(b) accounts not be more likely to outpace the increased Social Security benefits??
In considering different courses of action, one you have not mentioned is using your housing asset as an income source, converting your home equity into a source of spendable funds through a reverse mortgage. With no monthly payments due, the line of credit would be there as needed, allowing you to avoid tapping your 403(b) and also to allow your Social Security to earn delayed retirement credits.
You would continue to own and maintain your home. In fact, if future appreciation occurs, you might later choose to refinance the reverse mortgage, increasing your available resources even further.
Your lovingly maintained property itself might itself offer “ample space” to “entertain” the idea of capturing those delayed retirement credits.
https://mutualreverse.com/david-garrison
Readers, if you’d like to see what you might qualify for with a reverse mortgage in Indiana, or to download your Reverse Mortgage Guide Click Here (and scroll down).
Borrower must occupy home as primary residence and remain current on property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, the costs of home maintenance, and any HOA fees. David Garrison, NMLS ID 1595194. Mutual of Omaha Mortgage, Inc. dba Mutual of Omaha Reverse Mortgage, NMLS ID 1025894. 3131 Camino Del Rio N 1100, San Diego, CA 92108. Indiana-DFI Mortgage Lending License 43321. Michigan 1st Mortgage Broker/Lender/Servicer Registrant FR0022702. These materials are not from HUD or FHA and the document was not approved by HUD, FHA or any Government Agency. Subject to credit approval. For licensing information, go to:www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org Equal Housing Lender