Trust Us, Reverse Mortgages Make for Better Table Topics

As we approach the holidays and get ready to mingle with friends, family and the frightful “extended” family, we’re bracing ourselves for all the dreadful table topics.  Crypto, Inflation, Tom Brady’s divorce, the looming Recession and Politics are sure to top the list. And that’s why we figured, why not avoid all that and just talk… Reverse Mortgages!

Not only is it a great way to check-in and start-up a conversation with the ✨ older ✨ folks, but it’s good barometer to see how they’re handling some of the more serious things, like Taylor Swift and the Ticketmaster debacle or Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover.

So, if you’re up for taking the bait, here’s a good article for reference that was recently published from Insurance News Net Magazine, featuring Joe Jordan (From insurance advisor to life coach — with Joe Jordan), as he shared some great perspective on his new affinity for the reverse mortgage product and its overall use in a strategic plan.

"Jordan: I’ve recently become an advocate for reverse mortgages. I used to hold up a garlic and the crucifix whenever I heard about reverse mortgages. But for people over age 62, there’s $10.2 trillion tied up in their houses. And reverse mortgages are not just for the wealthy people.”

Did you read that correctly? He said, there’s $10.2 T.R.I.L.L.I.O.N in seniors' housing A.N.D. reverse mortgages are not just for the wealthy people.

Hold-up! I thought reverse mortgages were only for the destitute, house rich and cash poor. Yeah, you thought, and you were wrong (though we can’t fault you, it’s a common misconception), but the rich do indeed use them too!

“There could be the possibility of using a buffer asset. If you’re in a situation like recently, when the Dow went down 1,000 points in a day, that’s volatile. Well, guess what? You shouldn’t be taking money out of your account. Perhaps you could shift to another pocket. And it could come from your reverse mortgage. And the money comes out on a tax-free basis. And so it allows the portfolio to heal, the classic buffer-asset type of approach.”

This is just one of the many approaches that Dan Hultquist, Wade Pfau and Jamie Hopkins have been shouting from the roof tops for years. Go boomer, it’s retirement 🎶 - open up a reverse mortgage line-of-credit and let it grow, baby! Use it as a hedge when things get weird, or don’t, and just have the fire extinguisher ready…just in case.

Joe (and I hope he doesn’t mind me calling him by his first name at this point) also describes the classic Social Security bridge.

“Another benefit a reverse mortgage could provide for someone who reaches age 62 is to provide a Social Security bridge. This would allow you to obtain the funds you might need and then wait until age 67 or 70, when the monthly payout would be significantly more. If you wait till 70, it’s 77% more.”

Use it while you wait, and let your Social Security incubate (but like, in a good way). And as the article says,

“There’s a lot of flexibility there. People have to begin to use the wealth they have in their home. For the most part, it’s three-quarters of a person’s net assets in terms of the average person. And they’re able to use that wealth instead of just saying, 'The house is paid off.' This could be helpful, especially because people are living a lot longer.”

Okay great, so reverse mortgages can make for a much calmer and productive discussion at holiday festivities (not to mention maybe even reducing the chances of a heart attack or stroke by minimizing stressful political and economic talk), but how do I apply this amazing article to the dinner table?

Great question! Memorize the whole thing and recite it word for word, of course. Or, if you can’t do that, then be prepared with the big bullet points of how much money is tied up in homes, how a reverse mortgage is helpful, and how a lot of what they’ve heard are probably misconceptions. If you want, reference these client FAQs and use a quick calculator. Oh, and bring some paper copy apps, just in case. 😉