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I. How We Work in Washington. Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services. APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
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V. Complaints. Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights. APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.I agree that: A.I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information"). B.APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink. C.APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site. D.If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records. E.This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year. F.You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
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I have a TSP from my federal govt job and a mortgage. Does anyone know if it is wise to use it to pay off the mortgage? I want to retire early without a mortgage.
Your still working civil service right? The mortgage was it funded through TSP? Or is it a traditional mortgage through a bank or mortgage company?
If mortgage is through a bank, I’d suggest you look into getting a loan through TsP to pay off the old mortgage. TSP - if it’s anything like the old Civil Service Retirement System (my dad was a Fed) - has loan programs at better than market rates for both personal loans and mortgages for employees. If TSP is like old CSRS they don’t do full 6 figure mortgages (likely cause there’s FHA / HUD you can go to for this) but more smaller mortgages under 6 figure to pay off the tail end of preexisting mortgage or to buy investment property. I’d suggest you try to find out about TSP regular loans and house loans, then run the #’s to see what’s best use of $ over time vs. your current mortgage.
I’m in agreement with others about the advantage of keeping a mortgage and using the $ instead in other ways (investment, pay off other debt, perhaps something purely fun). If your interest rate is low and the mortgage deduction continues to be allowed for taxes, it’s a better use of your $ to keep mortgage and use $ in other ways. We have SBA disaster recovery mortgage lending from Katrina & interest is like 2%; it’s not worth paying it off as there’s no way to ever get $ cheaper other than marrying it or burying it.
In the past you’ve written about your very real concern about how to financially manage if your hubs needs a NH and your still the community spouse. CS planning if you anticipate Medicaid will be filed for hubs is not simple. Really try to find out what your options are for a mortgage/ housing / loans and discuss this with a NAELA level elder law atty. Especially as to how Medicaid in your state approaches liens / claims on your homestead property and how you can perhaps shift $ to become income for you rather than getting stuck in a spend-down.
I would see your financial advisor. I also wanted to pay off the mortgage early and ours said “Why?” Like Barbs, our rate is very low, we make more than that in our investments, and we can still pay all our expenses in our retirement. And a withdrawal that large would be a big hit on our taxes. So he counciled us not to do it. I still look forward to paying it off in 7 more years, but financially it would have been a bad move. So you need to assess your own situation.
It's taxed as income no matter how you take the distribution, of course. But if you take all of it at once, the tax bite is likely to be large than if you take it over time.
Worried; A very good book that I read recently was Jane Bryant Quinn's Making your money last in Retirement. I don't recall that it addressed that issue, but it is a good general overview.
As geewiz points out, there are many ways of looking at this equation.
The one I've used is as follows: I have no debt EXCEPT my mortgage. My mortgage is at 3.5 %. The interest is still deductible. I am funneling the monies I am currently putting into my 403B (guaranteed 7% right now) and 457 (split 50/50 between equities and bonds) [I'm withholding the maximum allowed into each so as to reduce my tax bill].
There is tremendous psychological peace to not having a mortgage; but for me, it makes more tax and long term financial sense to put all I can, tax deferred into retirement savings that grow at a rate greater than my mortgage interest than to deplete either my retirement nest egg, my emergency fund OR the current salary that I'm deferring into paying off a 3.5% loan. It's cheap money.
Worried, do you mean a TSA (Tax Sheltered Annuity)? There isn't enough information here to give you a solid response. A good financial planner should be able to assist you. The planner will ask about all of your sources of income at retirement; assets, budget, large potential expenditures, tax situation, etc. Retiring without a mortgage is an excellent goal. BUT you don't want to pursue it without regard to the income tax implications (of cashing in the TSA) or depleting a chunk of your retirement savings. Have you been paying extra towards your mortgage each month? Do you have disposable income each pay period? What are the likely expenses for your spouse? Sorry not to be able to give a definitive response but I hope I've given you some issues to consider.
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington.
Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services.
APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid.
We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour.
APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment.
You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints.
Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights.
APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.
I agree that:
A.
I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information").
B.
APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink.
C.
APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site.
D.
If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records.
E.
This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year.
F.
You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
If mortgage is through a bank, I’d suggest you look into getting a loan through TsP to pay off the old mortgage. TSP - if it’s anything like the old Civil Service Retirement System (my dad was a Fed) - has loan programs at better than market rates for both personal loans and mortgages for employees. If TSP is like old CSRS they don’t do full 6 figure mortgages (likely cause there’s FHA / HUD you can go to for this) but more smaller mortgages under 6 figure to pay off the tail end of preexisting mortgage or to buy investment property. I’d suggest you try to find out about TSP regular loans and house loans, then run the #’s to see what’s best use of $ over time vs. your current mortgage.
I’m in agreement with others about the advantage of keeping a mortgage and using the $ instead in other ways (investment, pay off other debt, perhaps something purely fun). If your interest rate is low and the mortgage deduction continues to be allowed for taxes, it’s a better use of your $ to keep mortgage and use $ in other ways. We have SBA disaster recovery mortgage lending from Katrina & interest is like 2%; it’s not worth paying it off as there’s no way to ever get $ cheaper other than marrying it or burying it.
In the past you’ve written about your very real concern about how to financially manage if your hubs needs a NH and your still the community spouse. CS planning if you anticipate Medicaid will be filed for hubs is not simple. Really try to find out what your options are for a mortgage/ housing / loans and discuss this with a NAELA level elder law atty. Especially as to how Medicaid in your state approaches liens / claims on your homestead property and how you can perhaps shift $ to become income for you rather than getting stuck in a spend-down.
As geewiz points out, there are many ways of looking at this equation.
The one I've used is as follows: I have no debt EXCEPT my mortgage. My mortgage is at 3.5 %. The interest is still deductible. I am funneling the monies I am currently putting into my 403B (guaranteed 7% right now) and 457 (split 50/50 between equities and bonds) [I'm withholding the maximum allowed into each so as to reduce my tax bill].
There is tremendous psychological peace to not having a mortgage; but for me, it makes more tax and long term financial sense to put all I can, tax deferred into retirement savings that grow at a rate greater than my mortgage interest than to deplete either my retirement nest egg, my emergency fund OR the current salary that I'm deferring into paying off a 3.5% loan. It's cheap money.
Retiring without a mortgage is an excellent goal. BUT you don't want to pursue it without regard to the income tax implications (of cashing in the TSA) or depleting a chunk of your retirement savings.
Have you been paying extra towards your mortgage each month? Do you have disposable income each pay period? What are the likely expenses for your spouse? Sorry not to be able to give a definitive response but I hope I've given you some issues to consider.