Despite challenges many reluctant to tap equity in retirement

Older American homeowners find themselves beset by a variety of retirement landmines- exploding medical costs, uncertain markets and income security. Despite these challenges, retirees remain conflicted about tapping their home equity.

Mortgage and financial professionals are well aware that the baby boomer generation is less adverse to mortgage debt than the generation that preceded it. A recent New York Times article cites the seismic shift of how older American’s managed mortgage debt. The Federal Reserve reports that home-secured debt held by those aged 65-74 was only 18.5 percent in 1992, 32 percent in 2004 and 42 percent in 2004 as reported by the 2013. The percentage of those holding mortgage-related debt into retirement is expected to continue to rise as an estimated of 10,000 baby boomers turn 65- each day.

Despite the widespread acceptance of leveraging debt among boomers, retirees financial needs and uncertainty about tapping into home equity remain. The conflict between the need to fund aging in place and tapping into home equity through a mortgage is addressed in Jamie Hopkins recent column in Forbes.

“American retirees are facing a laundry list of retirement challenges. The only certainty is that