How can home equity strengthen your clients' retirement plans?
The short answer
For most retirees, the home is the biggest asset on the balance sheet, and it's usually left out of the plan. The Mortgage Advisory helps financial professionals put it to work for their clients with reverse mortgages, HELOCs, and refinances. We never touch your clients' investments, never sell annuities or insurance, and never offer or accept referral fees.
Last updated
In other countries, it's called a housing pension
South Korea
Jutaek Yeongeum
“Home Pension,” a government-backed program, age 55+
Switzerland
Immobilienrente
“Real estate pension,” also called a reverse mortgage
Sweden
Hypotekspension
A leading provider’s name: “Swedish Mortgage Pension”
United States
HECM
A federally insured loan, or “reverse mortgage”
Same idea, different name. In the U.S., it's a loan, and we'll show you exactly how it works.
Many of the planners we work with open the conversation this way. It reframes a reverse mortgage in one sentence, from “last resort” to a planning tool the rest of the world already uses, and it shows clients you've looked beyond the headlines. See how to bring it up with a client.
Free tools and resources
Reverse Mortgage Calculator
Four numbers, an estimated range, and an honest fit rating, built on HUD's official tables. Share the link with clients: TheMortgageAdvisory.com/reverse-calculator.
Open the calculator →Life Rate Calculator
A client's blended rate on everything they owe: mortgage, cards, car loans, and solar or PACE liens. Runs in the browser; nothing is saved.
Open the calculator →Reverse mortgage library
Plain-English answers on the line of credit, taxes, trusts, spouses, heirs, and when a reverse mortgage is a bad idea. Safe to share with clients.
Browse the answers →15-minute case review
Bring a client scenario, no names needed. We'll tell you honestly whether a reverse mortgage, HELOC, or refinance fits.
Book a case review →
Client workshops
Invite clients to our free homeowner workshops, or co-host one with us at fair, shared cost. Materials sent early for compliance review.
Ask about a workshop →
Questions planners ask us
- HECM line of credit or cash reserve: which is the better buffer for a down market?
- How do I bring up a reverse mortgage with a client without it sounding like a sales pitch?
- What information do you need for a reverse mortgage case review?
- How do financial planners use reverse mortgages in real client plans? (Case studies)
- Does suggesting a reverse mortgage conflict with my fiduciary duty to a client?
- Can a reverse mortgage pay for a client's in-home care?
Printable handouts
One page each. Open one, then print it or save it as a PDF to share with a client or your compliance team.
For clients
Home Equity Checklist for Your Retirement PlanA one-page checklist homeowners and their financial professionals can use to decide whether home equity belongs in the retirement plan.
For clients
Is Your Home a Hidden Pension?A one-page summary of how a reverse mortgage may turn decades of home equity into retirement cash flow, with the facts and the trade-offs.
For clients
10 Questions to Ask Before You Get a Reverse MortgageTen questions every homeowner, and their family and financial professional, should ask any reverse mortgage lender before signing.
For you
Email Template: Starting a Home Equity ConversationA ready-to-edit email financial professionals can send a client to introduce home equity options, with links to plain-English answers.
Who is this for?
Financial professionals whose clients own homes, especially clients 62 and older or approaching retirement:
- CFPs and certified financial planners
- Financial advisors, wealth managers, and fiduciary RIAs
- Retirement planners and insurance and retirement specialists
- Estate planners and elder law attorneys
- CPAs with financial-planning practices
What do we promise your clients, and you?
- We don't touch the portfolio. No annuities, no insurance, no investment products, ever.
- We never offer or accept referral fees. Our resources are free to everyone, with no strings attached.
- Independent counseling first. Every HECM borrower meets with an independent HUD-approved counselor before applying. Family members and advisors are welcome.
- You stay in the loop. With your client's permission, we'll include you from the first call to closing.
- Every cost on paper. Full costs up front, including how we're paid. See costs and how we're paid.
When should you think about the client's home?
Flag a conversation when a client:
- Is 62 or older and still making a mortgage payment that strains their retirement cash flow
- Is worried about selling investments in a down market early in retirement
- Is near a Medicare income surcharge (IRMAA) threshold, or is planning Roth conversions
- Wants to delay Social Security but needs income until then
- Has most of their wealth in a long-held home with a large built-in gain (common in California)
- Has a home in a trust, a younger spouse, or heirs who may not keep the home
- Is carrying high-interest debt into retirement, or needs cash but has a first-mortgage rate worth keeping
Which strategies can we model with you?
Retirement income and portfolio protection
- How the reverse mortgage line of credit grows, and using it as a standby buffer
- Monthly income for life from a HECM
- Who qualifies, and how much equity is needed
Taxes
- Reverse mortgage money and retirement taxes: step-up in basis, IRMAA, Roth conversions, and Social Security timing
- Medicaid, Social Security, and Medicare
Estate and family
- Trusts, estate planning, and California's Prop 19
- Protecting a spouse under 62
- What happens when the borrower dies
- When a reverse mortgage is a bad idea
- Alternatives to a reverse mortgage, downsizing vs. staying put, and senior property tax deferral
High-value homes and keeping a low first mortgage
- Jumbo reverse mortgages above the FHA limit
- A reverse mortgage second that keeps the current mortgage
Debt, HELOCs, and refinancing for pre-retirees
- The Life Rate: a client's blended rate on everything they owe
- HELOC vs. a 401(k) withdrawal
- HELOC vs. cash-out refinance
- When refinancing is worth it
How do we work together?
- Plan. You review the client's retirement, tax, and estate goals.
- Counsel. For a HECM, an independent HUD-approved counselor explains the loan.
- Loan. We structure the options side by side and handle the loan. Reverse mortgages and HELOCs are arranged through approved partner lenders.
- Decide. Your client and their family decide. No other product is ever required.
Can we hold a workshop for your clients?
Yes, two ways, both built to keep your firm and ours in compliance:
- Our free educational workshops. We host plain-English homeowner workshops, like Is Your Home a Hidden Pension?, open to the public. You're welcome to invite your clients and attend. They're our events, at our cost, and aren't offered in exchange for referrals.
- Co-hosted workshops. When we present together, each firm pays its fair share of the costs, agreed in writing up front. Both firms' compliance teams review the materials before anything goes out.
Either way, we present education only. No loan applications are taken at the event, and no one is ever pressured.
What's the easiest next step?
Book a 15-minute case review. Bring a client scenario (no names needed), and we'll tell you honestly whether a reverse mortgage, HELOC, or refinance fits, and what it could look like.
Common questions
Do you offer or accept referral fees?
No. The Mortgage Advisory never offers or accepts referral fees, or anything else of value for referrals. Everything in this hub is free to any financial professional, whether or not you ever send us a client.
Will you recommend annuities, insurance, or other investments to my client?
Never. We don't sell them, and we don't recommend using loan proceeds to buy them. Your client's investments stay with you.
Can I join my client's calls with you?
Yes, with your client's permission. Many advisors sit in on the first call, and with written authorization we'll keep you updated through closing.
My firm's compliance team reviews outside materials. Can you help?
Yes. We'll send workshop slides, handouts, and any co-branded material early so your compliance team has time to review and approve them before anything is shared with clients.
Is a reverse mortgage only for clients who are running out of money?
No. Some of the best uses are for clients with solid portfolios: a standby line of credit that grows over time, a buffer in down markets, a bridge to delay Social Security, or a way to keep a long-held home and its stepped-up basis for heirs.
Have a client in mind?
Book a 15-minute case review with our team. No names needed. We never offer or accept referral fees.