Generation “U”: Unretired & Inspired

[ad#CCCS]

Generation “U”: Unretired & Inspired…
and Reverse Mortgage-Ready!

Seniors Staying In The Workforce Longer

Workplace expert Lynn Taylor, who coined the term “Gen U” for Generation Unretired, believes today’s seniors and soon-to-be seniors represent a sea change for both business and the reverse mortgage industry. She says, “With the growing number of people seeking greater financial security to address longer life spans, Gen U will be highly receptive to financial incentives such as reverse mortgage, which will allow them to continue to thrive.”

The author of the workplace conflict resolution book, Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant (TOT): How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job notes that Gen U will make up almost all the growth of the U.S. labor market over the next seven years. According to AARP, eight out of 10 of the 80 million Baby Boomers will work part- or full-time rather than retire.

Seniors Staying In The Workforce,“Gen U’s contributions reside not only in their skills sets garnered over many years, which can be passed onto Gen X, Gen Y, and Baby Boomers. They’ve also learned a thing or two about people skills -something often lost in today’s frenzied, high-tech workplace,” observes Taylor, who has watched this evolution from within corporate America and as a consultant over the past three decades.

Henry Alford, author of How to Live: A Search for Wisdom from Old People, concurs with her assessment. “In general, the more technological a culture, the less the wisdom of elders is valued; in a world in which megabytes and artificial intelligence are the coin of the realm, skills like passing on traditions and providing cultural context are perceived to have diminished worth.”

But Taylor believes we err if we cast off the older generation.

“Because Gen U has the maturity of experience, they are often more adept at ‘humanizing the workplace.’ They’ve seen sandbox politics come and go and have witnessed that nice guys really don’t finish last. They are often the ‘anti-TOT’. That’s not to say that all of them make great bosses. But they can be a major asset to a more interpersonal, motivational workforce.”

Unretired Reverse Mortgage Prospects

This is also why a reverse mortgage may be key to helping Gen U workers thrive: remaining in the workforce, or reinventing themselves for an entirely new encore career, “presents an opportunity to re-apply their knowledge, pay off expenses, ‘give back,’ and feel a renewed sense of purpose,” says Taylor. While a sense of community can be created in a yoga class or golf game, for many mature workers, building something that directly impacts the livelihoods of others can be even more rewarding, she notes.

“This Gen-U-ine shift will become a win-win-win for companies, the reverse mortgage industry, and the unretired in the months and years ahead.”

Spring Cleaning the Reverse Mortgage Way (part 1)

[ad#CCCS]

Lowering Home Closing Costs

Chucking the Extra Closing Costs
Cleaning. Few of us like to do it, yet we seem more willing to spiff up our houses for others than for ourselves. Housekeeper due to arrive? Quick, toss those dirty clothes in the hamper! In-laws invited for dinner? Polish the silver and run the vacuum!

Selling the house? Pull out all the stops. Take an old toothbrush to the grout! Replace the kitchen linoleum! Paint the exterior!

Lowering Home Closing Costs With Reverse Mortgages

While it certainly makes sense for your reverse mortgage prospects to enjoy a clean, comfortable house while they own it — and take all available measures to make it shine for sale at the right price — too many seniors make the mistake of selling one home, then buying another and applying for a HECM in order to avoid paying a mortgage in their retirement years. They’ve thus paid a completely unnecessary, double set of closing costs!

The smart move, of course, is to obtain the reverse mortgage at the time of the new home purchase. The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 created this special HECM for purchase loan, which went live on January 1, 2009. Find all the details here.

Educating Reverse Mortgage Prospects

So the ideal “spring cleaning” assistance to offer your prospects and clients this season? Reverse mortgage education:

  • When does downsizing make sense? Is it appropriate for you and your spouse now?
  • Explain why a HECM (reverse mortgage) for purchase means one set of closing costs, not two.
  • Help your client begin the process of qualifying for a HECM for purchase loan, so they can enjoy their retirement free from monthly mortgage payments.

Best of all, this type of spring-cleaning is so much gentler on older backs — not to mention bank accounts. You get the business, they save the additional closing costs. Everybody blooms like a fresh spring garden.

In Part 2, we’ll look at ways to help your clients “age-proof” their homes.