From here:
One in eight retired Britons still have a mortgage to pay off, with an average loan burden of nearly £50,000, a report revealed yesterday.
It estimates around 1.6million over the age of 55 who have retired have a mortgage. Some owe more than £100,000, the study said.
And not all of these senior citizens have upset a bishop.
We are retired. We got a new mortgage at age 67, some $250,000. We have enough money in retirement funds that we could have paid cash, but those funds are earning more than double the rate of the mortgage, and in the US the interest paid on mortgage is deductible on income tax, just like donations to the church or other charities. NOT having a mortgage would be bad money management. Besides, we can pay it off at age 97. Since I got my first mortgage at age 26, 44 years ago, I’ve never not had a mortgage.
I realize tax and other laws in UK and CA may make it more sensible to not have one.
My husband and I are going to be in that category. But then again, we have paid $80 hr. X 4 for our children’s Autism remediation, over 18 years. It nicely drains your wallet.
Perhaps the Anglican Church would like to make us one of their charitable causes.