Nearly four-in-10 boomers who plan to retire in the next three years still have a mortgage on their home, yet two-thirds of boomers expect to retire mortgage-free.
According to the TD Canada Trust Boomer Buyers Report released Wednesday, many boomers plan to move as part of their retirement strategy, with nearly one-third downsizing — but adult children who are living at home are keeping some parents from making a move.
Of those who plan to downsize, 17% of boomer parents are delaying moving in order to accommodate their adult children who are living at home. Twelve per cent who will stay in their current home and not downsize, say it’s because they may have adult children living with them after they retire.
One-third of boomers who plan to move say the move is part of their retirement strategy. Forty-one per cent say they will not require a mortgage to finance their new home, 68% will put down as much of a down payment as possible, 44% will try to save on interest by increasing the frequency of mortgage payments and 34% will try to save on interest with a shorter amortization period.
While most boomers feel they’ll be able to retire mortgage-free, 35% say it’s not likely they will be able to pay down their mortgage because other living expenses make it hard to do so.
Results for the study were collected through a custom online survey conducted by Environics Research Group. A total of 1,025 completed surveys were collected between June 16-28, 2011 from Baby-Boomers (defined as those born between 1946 – 1964).