Reverse Mortgage Jan-Feb 2021

to offer financial support to family regardless of how it impacts their future; • Pillar 3: Purpose. Retirees say their greatest source of purpose is from spending time with loved ones. They also value learning and growing. Yet now, with more than seven hours a day of free time, one in three new retirees struggle to find purpose in retirement; and • Pillar 4: Finances. The role of money in retirement is to provide security and freedom. Over half of retir- ees wish they had budgeted more for unexpected expenses. When it comes to the unexpected, the cost of health care is more worrisome than a recession. “All working people, especially pre-retirees, need to understand that the quality of their lives in retirement is rooted in what they do to improve their health, their rela- tionships with family and friends, their sense of purpose, and their finances long before they retire,” the research says. “Then, in retirement, they must continue to learn how to improve and integrate the four pillars.” The press is talking about ... Bankrate.com Reviews Advantage of Low Interest Rates Thanks to historically low interest rates, reverse mortgages have new appeal for people in or nearing retirement who need cash but can’t afford monthly pay- ments on a loan, according to Bankrate.com mortgage reporter Zach Wichter. “With retirement, low interest rates usually make everything worse. They make retire- ment more expensive,” explains Wade Pfau, a profes- sor at the American College of Financial Services, in Wichter’s story. “The reverse mortgage is the only tool I’m aware of that benefits from low interest rates.” Reverse mortgages, adds Wichter, can be uniquely positioned to help people balance their portfolios at a time when other investments may be underperforming. Also, reverse mortgage holders only get charged interest when they draw funds out of the loan, so setting one up means money will be available without having to incur ongoing interest charges. BusinessInsider.com Publishes In-Depth Report on Reverse Mortgages BusinessInsider.com , the largest business news site on the web with over 110 million visits during the past six months, published a comprehensive article on reverse mortgages that provides useful background informa- tion and explains the pros and cons of getting one. “Payments from a reverse mortgage can be useful if your retirement savings and Social Security checks just aren’t cutting it,” says Associate Editor Laura Grace Tarpley. “They could also help you enjoy retirement more, pro- vided you are fine with the house selling after you die.” Another advantage, she adds, is that unlike with most debts, you don’t have to make monthly payments on a reverse mortgage. Instead, you’ll pay back the loan when your home sells. In Washington, they’re talking about ... NRMLA Proposes Improvements to Condo Forms and Policies With input from the HUD Issues Committee, NRMLA recommended further changes to Forms HUD- 9991 and HUD-9992 and that fees charged by condo- minium associations for completing these forms be con- sidered a mandatory obligation that can be paid from the loan proceeds, according to comments submitted to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. “Our members report that condominium associa- tions, and their service providers, charge fees ranging from $150 to $800 for providing the information necessary to What’s News continued on page 10 REVERSE MORTGAGE / JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2021 9