I get this question a lot from my own clients and from others nearing retirement who own homes on which they still hold a mortgage.  There’s a widely-held belief that you should eliminate all your debt before you retire.  Is that true? And does that include paying off your mortgage?  The answer, as is common…
Read more

The Pew Research Center found that some 36% of all 18 to 31-year-olds were living at home with their parents in 2012.  As the parent of one such child I fully understand what life is like under those circumstances.  I want to offer a few financial planning tips to those of you who are in…
Read more

No, this blog is not about how the custodian holding your IRA investments protects itself against hackers.  Rather it’s about the legal protection your account offers against creditors.  Although most of you probably will never have to deal with irate business creditors, keep in mind that should you end up being among the large minority…
Read more

I’ve written often about the value of delaying Social Security (SS) payments until age 70.  By waiting until you reach that age, you accumulate what the SSA calls delayed credits, and are effectively purchasing (using the payments you’ve given up) an inflation-adjusted immediate annuity paying 8%.  You won’t find a better annuity anywhere on the…
Read more

I’ve written before about the advantages and disadvantages of reverse mortgages, especially Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM) that are insured and regulated by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) (see https://www.cognizantwealth.com/2014/02/20/reverse-mortgages-the-good-and-the-bad/).  One of the advantages – the fact that you do not have to undergo an income and credit check in order to qualify for the…
Read more