Mortgage stress infiltrates retirement

The recent report by Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) has given rise to all manner of lurid headlines:

“Mortgage debt causing older Australians distress and worsening mental health”
“In debt until we die…thousands will still be paying off their houses at 106”
“Older Aussies are drowning in mortgage debt…”

It used to be said that bad news sells newspapers – today it provides clickbait, headlines vying to attract the largest number of readers. Clickbait or not, the report is disheartening; Rachel Ong ViforJ, professor of economics at Curtin University and lead author of the study described the findings as “quite shocking.” The fact is, more older Australians are finding it difficult to pay off their mortgage debt before they retire; the average mortgage debt among older Australians has blown out by 600 percent since the late 1980s. Nearly half of all homeowners aged 55 to 64 are still paying off a mortgage, up from 14 percent 30 years ago.

Is an existing mortgage causing you sleepless nights?

Keeping up with mortgage repayments can eat into your retirement funding. There is an alternative – and it doesn’t involve downsizing. Household Capital can help you access the savings in your home to pay off that mortgage. Using your home equity has three key advantages:

• Improved retirement funding – because you don’t have to make repayments, the money you were using to service your mortgage can instead be used to fund your retirement and improve your lifestyle
• Interest payment flexibility – you can choose to make regular interest repayments, however, there is no obligation to do so
• Guaranteed occupancy – whether you choose to make repayments or not, you have guaranteed occupancy of your home until you choose to leave it.

If you would like a more flexible approach to managing your mortgage, try our equity calculator to see how a Household Loan could relieve your mortgage stress, improve your retirement funding and help you to Live Well At Home.

You could also check out our free 'What is a reverse mortgage' guide for more information.