Retiring Boomers Still Have Mortgages to Pay Down

A growing number of U.S. homeowners reach retirement still owing money on their houses. The share of Americans 65 and older with mortgage debt rose to 30 percent in 2011, from 22 percent in 2001, according to a May analysis by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Loan balances also increased, with the median amount owed almost doubling, to $79,000 from $43,400, after adjusting for inflation.

The increase in mortgage debt may be keeping older Americans from retiring and crimping their spending on things such as vacations and visits to grandchildren. In the long term, it may make them more vulnerable to swings in the economy. “Hit with a financial downturn or an unexpected cost, they often are in a position where they don’t have the ability to recoup whatever losses they may have suffered,” says Stacy Canan, deputy assistant director at the CFPB’s Office for Older Americans in Washington.