Whether to pay off your mortgage before retirement depends on your interest rate, risk tolerance, and financial goals; paying it off offers peace of mind and lower expenses, while keeping it allows for potentially higher investment returns, especially with low rates (under ~4-5%), but it's crucial to ensure you're not sacrificing essential retirement savings or liquidity for emergencies. A higher mortgage rate (6%+), a desire for simplicity, or being a risk-averse saver often favors paying it off, while a low rate, need for cash flow, or high investment returns might favor investing instead.
Yes, Dave Ramsey strongly advocates paying off your mortgage, calling it "Baby Step 6," because a debt-free house provides immense financial security, freedom, and a solid foundation for wealth, even arguing for it over investing at a low interest rate due to risk reduction and lifestyle benefits, though he stresses completing other steps like investing 15% first. He sees a paid-off home as a huge advantage for retirement, reducing stress and enabling career changes, and many millionaires follow this path.
The main cons of paying off a mortgage early include losing the mortgage interest tax deduction, facing opportunity costs (missing higher investment returns), and reducing your financial liquidity (tying up cash in your home instead of having it accessible). You might also incur prepayment penalties (though rare on conventional loans), and it can slightly lower your credit score by removing a large, established debt, according to U.S. Bank.
Mortgages make up about 70% of household balances. Conventional wisdom has long recommended that homeowners pay off their mortgage before retiring. Yet over the past three decades, more older adults are carrying their mortgage into retirement, while the amount owed has increased dramatically.
"Shark Tank" investor Kevin O'Leary has said the ideal age to be debt-free is 45, especially if you want to retire by age 60. Being debt-free — including paying off your mortgage — by your mid-40s puts you on the early path toward success, O'Leary argued.
You might not want to pay off your mortgage early if …
You need to catch up on retirement savings: If you completed a retirement plan and discovered that you aren't contributing enough to your 401(k), IRA, or other retirement accounts, increasing those contributions should probably be your top priority.
Suze Orman strongly advocates paying off your mortgage by retirement for financial freedom and peace of mind, but her advice on how varies by situation, often prioritizing a solid emergency fund and retirement savings first, especially if interest rates are low. While she pushes for paying down debt aggressively (even reducing retirement savings beyond the 401(k) match), she cautions against draining savings for low-interest mortgages if it leaves you vulnerable to job loss or emergencies, suggesting you should have a strong safety net before using savings to pay it off.
Tax considerations: You may be able to deduct home mortgage interest from your taxes. 2 However, if you pay off your mortgage, you won't be able to utilize this deduction, which could increase your taxable income. To learn more about the tax implications consider speaking with a tax advisor.
The 3-7-3 Rule in mortgages isn't a loan type but a federal timeline from the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule, ensuring borrower protection by mandating disclosures within 3 business days of application, a 7-business-day wait between the initial Loan Estimate and closing, and another 3-day wait if significant changes (like APR) occur, giving borrowers time to review costs before committing to a loan.
If you're trying to decide between investing and paying off the mortgage early, investing for retirement always comes first. But once you've invested 15% of your gross income for retirement, you can put any surplus cash toward extra mortgage payments.
Figure out 25% of your take-home pay.
To calculate how much house you can afford, use the 25% guideline we talked about earlier: Never spend more than 25% of your monthly take-home pay (after taxes) on monthly mortgage payments.
The $1,000 a month rule is a retirement guideline suggesting you need about $240,000 saved for every $1,000 per month in desired income, based on a 5% annual withdrawal rate (5% of $240k is $12k/year, or $1k/month). It's a simple way to set savings goals, but it doesn't account for inflation, taxes, or other income like Social Security, so it's best used as a starting point, not a complete plan.
Suze Orman's key retirement advice emphasizes starting early (15% savings from age 25), prioritizing Roth accounts for tax-free withdrawals, maximizing employer matches, waiting until age 70 for Social Security, building a large emergency fund (2-3 years' expenses after 50), and considering home equity (reverse mortgages) for income if needed, all while living below your means to save more today for less spending tomorrow.
5 retirement mistakes to avoid
The main cons of paying off a mortgage early include losing the mortgage interest tax deduction, facing opportunity costs (missing higher investment returns), and reducing your financial liquidity (tying up cash in your home instead of having it accessible). You might also incur prepayment penalties (though rare on conventional loans), and it can slightly lower your credit score by removing a large, established debt, according to U.S. Bank.
The average age to pay off a mortgage in the U.S. is around 62, with many becoming mortgage-free in their early 60s, coinciding with or just after typical retirement age, though figures vary by source. While some financial experts suggest paying it off by 45 for aggressive investing, data shows a significant portion of homeowners, especially older ones (60+), are mortgage-free, but increasingly, older adults (60s, 70s, 80s) carry more mortgage debt than previous generations, according to Marketplace.