Home equity Archives - Jerry Golden on Retirement

This HECM-QLAC Power Move Can Unlock Guaranteed Retirement Income

December 8, 2025 By Jerry Golden in Annuity Tags: HECM, Home equity, QLAC, retirement

With nearly 20% of people age 65 and older facing Medicaid cuts, limited access to long-term care coverage and predictions of a major market correction, this population needs help not from the government or their advisers, but from their largest financial asset — their home.

For the past year, I’ve been investigating home equity conversion mortgages (HECMs), because a HECM offers elements that can help retirees stay in their homes and generate income for modest budgeted amounts.

In addition, the federal government provides insurance protection for HECMs so that heirs will not owe money after the original owner’s passing.

Treat Home Equity Like Other Investments in Your Retirement Plan: Look at Its Track Record

October 17, 2025 By Jerry Golden in Annuity Tags: Build a better retirement plan, HECM, Home equity, QLAC

Homeowners considering using home equity as a valuable asset in their retirement plan can analyze it like other investments, also taking into consideration the impact of historical housing price volatility and adjustable interest rates.

In my Kiplinger articles about how to build a better retirement plan, I often point out that homeowners who include home equity as an asset in their retirement plan can meet more of their retirement objectives.

The number of retirees who take advantage of a home equity conversion mortgage (HECM), however, has never equaled retirement experts’ expectations.

It’s not the design or pricing of the product, but rather, in my view, the limitations on how the performance of a HECM is presented and the challenges of integrating a HECM into a broader retirement plan.

How to Add Home Equity to Your Retirement Income Planning

June 9, 2024 By Jerry Golden in Annuity Tags: Annuities, Home equity, Retirement Planning, stay in home

Home equity is sometimes overlooked as a viable resource in retirement. You don’t have to sell your home to find income and liquidity.

With more retirees than ever choosing to age in place, the idea of selling your home to downsize may no longer be part of your plans.

That’s smart, because you don’t have to sell the homestead to produce retirement income and help cover the costs associated with a critical health crisis, or just the effects of aging that require outside care.In the New York Times article The High-Class Problem That Comes With Home Equity, author Ron Lieber, the NYT’s Your Money columnist, suggests that reverse mortgages could be a good product for some retirees who want to tap the equity in their home without selling. We agree, and the Go2Income planning method can now incorporate a reverse mortgage.

I have found that lifetime income, liquidity for unplanned expenses, lower taxes and a financial legacy are the objectives most retirees seek. When they also want to stay in their homes or age in place, I propose that annuities and home equity, added to traditional savings and investments, will best meet their retirement goals.