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AACreditUnion.org | | 15 M any baby boomers approaching retire- ment will have mixed feelings about leav- ing the workforce saddled with mortgage payments, often the largest expense at that stage in life. "There's a psychological factor to it," says Jamie Hopkins, a Forbes columnist and taxation professor who created the Re- tirement Income Certifi ed Professional designation, an educational program at the American College of Financial Services. "People take pride in owning their homes so they often put too much money in their homes or try to pay it off too fast." It's tempting to want to tie up loose ends. And while it's still considered a good idea to pay down credit card, car and other consumer debt, some fi nancial experts believe it's worthwhile for retir- ees to carry their mortgages into their golden years. "When an individual retires, typically their No. 1 asset will be their home," says Hopkins. "Often, it's twice the size of their retirement fund and represents about two-thirds of their wealth, so home eq- uity needs to be used strategically." One reason to keep your mortgage is a chance to instead use your funds to make a better investment. "Say you have a 3 percent interest rate on your mortgage," explains Hopkins, "prepaying is akin to investing in something with a 3 percent rate of return. If we're looking at long-term growth over 10 to 15 years, you may want some sort of equity or market with a better return." Another strategy is to transition from monthly mortgage payments to weekly or biweekly payments, explains Hopkins, "which can save you a lot over the course of your mortgage. It pays down the in- terest faster, and interest on interest doesn't accumulate quite as fast." Ameri- can Airlines Federal Credit Union doesn't currently off er this option, but can off er some alternatives to achieve the same result. Consult with a Credit Union Mort- gage Specialist to fi nd out more. So is it ever a good idea to pay off your mortgage before retiring? "For a lot of people, it may be a good idea to get that expense off the books," con- fi rms Hopkins, "but you have to do that in coordination with your comprehensive retirement plan. Because if you're de- pleting your retirement savings to pay off your house, you've just created another problem for yourself." There's no one-size-fi ts-all approach. A fi nancial planner can help you decide not only if there is a compelling econom- ic benefi t to holding onto your mortgage, but also how to maximize that benefi t in a way that works best for you. Meanwhile, when it comes to other types of debt, conventional fi nancial wisdom still holds true. "You'll never get a better return than paying off credit cards," says Hopkins. "Pay off personal debts with astronomical rates fi rst before even considering pre-paying your home mortgage."