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When you reach the age of retirement you have a lot of choices to make. Most people plan to stop working then or soon after. You have to decide if you have enough money to support your current lifestyle. You have to decide what you'll do with all your time. Even with a significant amount of money set aside sometimes emergencies arise or the money simply runs out sooner than expected. Medical expenses are higher than they used to be and you still need a way to pay the bills. Seniors are faced with tough decisions when it comes to supporting themselves. They often don't want to ask family or friends for help but they don't have many other options.
One of the biggest purchases most people make in their lifetime is their home. They usually take out a mortgage and spend years paying that home loan down while they live in the home. As a senior all that hard work can start to pay you back. Once you reach the age of 62 you're eligible to apply for a reverse mortgage. There are a lot of misconceptions about this program simply because people don't really understand what it means. The equity you've built in your home by making those payments all these years is able to create a monthly income for you in your golden years. You can receive a line of credit, monthly payments, or a lump sum to help with costs of living. There are no credit or income requirements and no payments due until you sell the home or until the last borrow dies. This can allow you to gain even more equity in your home by halting foreclosure or giving you the freedom to live there much longer than you otherwise might on a fixed income.
Your senior years should be a time to relax and enjoy your life, not worrying about money. Even if you didn't save as much as you would need to make it through your final years a reverse mortgage can give you the money you need to stay comfortable. In a way you're simply using your own money that you've already paid into your home to make ends meet. There are plenty of other hard decisions in life. Living comfortably through your retirement years shouldn't be one of them.