This week’s money news

 This week’s top story: Smart Money podcast on spring-cleaning, and paying off different types of debt. In other news: What could happen if Congress doesn’t make changes to Social Security by 2035, mortgage could be harder to get in a credit-tightening era, and 4 tips for a meaningful and successful retirement.

Smart Money Podcast: Spring-Cleaning, and Paying Off Different Types of Debt
This week’s episode starts with tips for financial spring-cleaning.

Will Social Security Run Out?
If Congress doesn’t make changes to Social Security by 2035, benefits may be reduced. Here’s what could happen next.

Mortgages Could Be Harder to Get in a Credit-Tightening Era
Mortgage rates are likely to rise in April because of persistent inflation and stricter lending.

4 Tips for a Meaningful and Successful Retirement
From planning your days to preparing for your health, financial planners and other experts weigh in on how to make the most of your retirement.

Q&A: Credit rating after mortgage payoff

Dear Liz: We are recently retired and will own our home free and clear in about six months. Will not having regular mortgage payments dent our credit ratings? If so, what can be done as a good substitute?

Answer: Your credit scores may dip after you pay off your mortgage, particularly if you don’t have another installment loan such as a vehicle or personal loan. To get and keep the highest credit scores, you typically need both installment loans and revolving accounts, such as credit cards.

The good news: You don’t need the highest credit scores to get the best rates and terms from lenders. Using credit cards lightly but regularly can help you maintain good scores without taking on debt.

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: How to maximize paying taxes with a credit card for points. Also in the news: How travel is back, 5 reasons to be optimistic about your summer travel plans, and how rising fed interest rates affect home buyers, homeowners.

How to Maximize Paying Taxes with a Credit Card for Points
You can rack up some serious points by paying your taxes with a credit card — just be conscious of fees.

Travel Is Back, in Case You Missed It
The pandemic has changed the way we travel, but the industry is bouncing back.

5 Reasons to Be Optimistic About Your Summer Travel Plans
The gradual travel bounce-back from deep COVID looks poised to accelerate this summer.

How Rising Fed Interest Rates Affect Home Buyers, Homeowners
Interest rates on mortgages and home equity lines of credit may rise following the Federal Reserve’s rate increase.

Monday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story: Mortgage Outlook in March. Also in the news: Balancing Hopes, Dreams and a Low-Paying College Major, Smart Money podcast on the tax, and how to safely tap home equity in a financial emergency.

Mortgage Outlook: Rates Could Keep Climbing in March
Mortgage rates are more likely to go up than go down in March.

Balancing Hopes, Dreams and a Low-Paying College Major
Liberal arts grads face longer odds compared with science, technology, engineering and mathematics degrees, but a well-chosen humanities major doesn’t have to be a vow of poverty.

Smart Money Podcast: The Tax Episode
Sean and Liz discuss deductions, credits and how to know when to call in a tax pro.

How to Safely Tap Home Equity in a Financial Emergency
Understand the costs and risks of borrowing against your home equity before tapping into it.

Q&A: Mortgage payoff creates options

Dear Liz: My wife and I just paid off our mortgage. What’s the correct thing to do now with the amount we used for the mortgage payments?

Answer: Congratulations! Paying off a mortgage is a big deal, so consider using some of your freed-up money to celebrate in whatever way seems appropriate.

Many Americans don’t have adequate retirement or emergency savings, so those should be high priorities along with paying off any other debt you might have.

If you’re in good shape, though, consider boosting your charitable contributions. Studies show that generosity contributes to happiness, and spending money on others often makes us feel better than spending on ourselves.

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

Today’s top story:  Harsh vibe continues for home buyers in 2022. Also in the news: Important lessons from Mortgage application data, new for Medicare in 2022, 5 mistakes that can lead to a bad car loan, and TV Black Friday 2021 deals.

The Property Line: Harsh Vibe Continues for Home Buyers in 2022
Signs point toward a friendlier market for buyers in 2022, if only marginally so.

Why Might Your Mortgage App Fail? Learn From 2020’s Denials
Mortgage application data from years past can teach important lessons.

What’s New for Medicare in 2022?
Costs are going up for Original Medicare, including a big increase for Medicare Part B.

5 Mistakes That Can Lead to a Bad Car Loan
Extending the loan’s term and not shopping for a loan are among the common mistakes that can lead to a bad car loan.

TV Black Friday 2021 Deals: Are They Worth It?
Amazon has a 50-inch Fire TV for $329.99.

Q&A: When mortgage shopping, does checking your credit scores lower them?

Dear Liz: We’re trying to refinance a mortgage. All of the mortgage lenders claim that checking our credit scores will not affect the scores. However, that is not true. What gives? The three credit bureaus all list “too many inquiries” and penalize us. Does calling them do any good or make it even worse?

Answer:
Checking your own scores is considered a soft inquiry that has no effect on your scores. When a lender checks your scores, there can be a small ding, but credit scoring formulas also have a feature that reduces the effect when you’re shopping for a mortgage.

Essentially, all the mortgage inquiries made within a certain amount of time are grouped together and counted as one. In addition, the formulas ignore any mortgage inquiries made within the previous 30 days. The amount of time you can shop varies with the credit scoring formula, so it’s generally a good idea to concentrate your shopping into a two-week period.

What you don’t want to do when you’re in the market for a mortgage is to apply for other credit. Those inquiries are not grouped with your mortgage inquiries. The effect of these inquiries fades quickly and is usually pretty small — typically 5 points or less for FICO scores, for example. But even a small ding could cause you to pay more in interest if your scores aren’t already excellent.

Q&A: Refinance or use IRA funds on mortgage?

Dear Liz: I owe $360,000 on my mortgage. I have sufficient funds in my IRA to pay this amount off without depleting income distribution for the next 20 years. I am currently paying $1,100 monthly on an interest-only loan, but I have to start making much larger principal payments in November 2022. Would you advise withdrawing IRA investment monies (and taking a tax hit) to pay off the full loan amount, or simply getting a conventional mortgage and live with a higher payment ($1,500) each month? I am 77 and retired now for four years.

Answer: Making that large a withdrawal will almost certainly hurl you into a much higher tax bracket and increase your Medicare premiums. Refinancing the mortgage while rates are low likely makes the most sense, but consult a tax pro or a fee-only financial advisor before making any big moves with retirement funds.

Q&A: Here’s a retirement dilemma: Pay off the house first or refinance?

Dear Liz: My husband and I are retired, with enough income from our pensions and Social Security to cover our modest needs, plus additional money in retirement accounts. We have owned our home for 35 years but refinanced several times and still have 15 years to go on a 20-year mortgage.

With rates so low, we were contemplating refinancing to a 15-year mortgage just for the overall savings on interest, but we started thinking about the fact that, at 67 and 72 years old, it’s unlikely that both of us will survive for another 15 years to pay off this loan. Since that’s the case, we’re now thinking about taking out a 30-year mortgage, with monthly payments $700 or $800 less than what we currently pay.

Our house is worth around 10 times what we owe on it, and if we had to move to assisted living we could rent it out at a profit, even with a mortgage. We also each have a life insurance policy sufficient to pay off the balance on the mortgage should one of us predecease the other.

I know that conventional wisdom says that we should pay off our mortgage as quickly as we can. But an extra $700 or $800 a month would come in handy! Am I missing something? Is this a bad idea?

Answer: Answer: Not necessarily.

Most people would be smart to have their homes paid off by the time they retire, especially if they won’t have enough guaranteed income from pensions and Social Security to cover their basic living expenses. Paying debt in retirement could mean drawing down their retirement savings too quickly, putting them at greater risk of ultimately running short of money.

Once people are in retirement, though, they shouldn’t necessarily rush to pay off a mortgage. Doing so could leave them cash poor.

You are in an especially fortunate position. Your guaranteed income covers your expenses, including your current mortgage, and you have a way to pay off the loan when that income drops at the first death. (The survivor will get the larger of the two Social Security checks. What happens with the pension depends on which option you chose — it may drop or disappear or continue as before.) Even with a mortgage, you have a large amount of equity that can be tapped if necessary.

So refinancing to a longer loan could make a lot of sense. To know for sure, though, you should run the idea past a fee-only, fiduciary financial planner who can review your situation and provide comprehensive advice.

Q&A: They paid off the mortgage rather than save for retirement. Now what?

Dear Liz: My wife and I aggressively paid down our mortgage and now have it paid off, but we don’t have much saved for retirement. I make about $90,000 a year and will receive a teacher’s pension that will replace between 30% and 60% of that (depending on what option we choose) when I retire in about 10 years. It probably won’t be enough to live on. We will receive no Social Security benefits. We have no other debts, and we would like to make up for lost time as best we can on retirement preparation. What is your best advice for people like us who have diligently paid off their mortgage but have not diligently put money away for retirement?

Answer: The older you get, the harder it is to make up for lost time with retirement savings. You probably can’t do it if retirement is just a few years away.

This is not to make you feel bad, but to serve as a warning for others tempted to prioritize paying off a mortgage over saving for retirement.

If you’re in your 50s, you’d typically need to save nearly half your income to equal what you could have accumulated had you put aside just 10% of your pay starting in your 20s. The miracle of compounding means even small contributions have decades to grow into considerable sums. Without the benefit of time, your contributions can’t grow as much so you have to put aside more.

But you can certainly save aggressively and consider a few alternatives for your later years.

Once you hit 50, you can benefit from the ability to make “catch up” contributions. For example, if you have a workplace retirement plan such as a 403(b), you can contribute as much as $26,000 — the $19,500 regular limit plus a $6,500 additional contribution for those 50 and older.

You and your spouse also can contribute as much as $7,000 each to an IRA; whether those contributions are deductible depends on your income and whether you’re covered by a workplace plan. If you’re covered, your ability to deduct your contribution phases out with a modified adjusted gross income of $105,000 to $125,000 for married couples filing jointly. If your spouse isn’t covered by a workplace plan but you are, her ability to deduct her contribution phases out with a modified adjusted gross income of $198,000 to $208,000. (All figures are for 2021.)

If you can’t deduct the contribution, consider putting the money into a Roth IRA instead because withdrawals from a Roth are tax free in retirement. The ability to contribute to a Roth IRA phases out with modified adjusted gross incomes between $198,000 and $208,000 for married couples filing jointly.

If possible, a part-time job in retirement could be extremely helpful in making ends meet. So could downsizing or tapping your home equity with a reverse mortgage. A fee-only financial planner could help you sort through your options, as well as help you figure out the best way to take your pension when the time comes.