TIMES ARE GETTING tougher. Corporate profits are down, unemployment is up, and after a winter of higher heating bills, prices are surging for essentials like food and health insurance, while cash-strapped municipalities across the country are hiking property taxes. Translation: You're a fatter target than ever for layoffs, your wife can kiss that part-time consulting gig goodbye, and fixed-income streams like pension checks and regular-investment drawdowns may no longer plug your budget gaps. Happy retirement spreadsheets!
Facing suddenly rickety plans, many families seeking a new financial foundation have discovered they are sitting on one — literally. Americans age 62 and older have nearly $4.3 trillion in home equity. And increasingly, they're not only borrowing against that wealth by piling up mortgages and home-equity loans but also by tapping it directly, via reverse mortgages.
Reverse mortgages are so named because instead of your making monthly payments to a lender, your bank pays you cash; essentially, it advances you part of your equity in your home...
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