INDIANAPOLIS: Retirees who use retirement money to pay housing costs can face disaster if their health deteriorates or their savings run short. They’re more likely to need help from the government, charities or their children. Or they must keep working deep into retirement.
“It’s a big problem coming off the housing bubble,” says an advisor on seniors housing issues. “A growing number of seniors are struggling with what to do about their home and their mortgage and their retirement.”
The Baby Boomer generation was already facing a retirement crunch: over the past two decades, employers have largely eliminated traditional pensions, forcing workers to manage their retirement savings. Many Boomers didn’t save enough, invested badly or raided their retirement accounts.
Thirty per cent of homeowners 65 and older were paying a mortgage in 2013, up from 22% in 2001.