NewMore retired Americans face home foreclosure after refinancing
One third of US homeowners 65 and older were paying a mortgage in 2013, up from 22pc in 2001
Al and Saundra Karp have found an unconventional way to raise money and help save their Miami home from foreclosure: They are lining up gigs for their family jazz band.
They enjoy performing. But it is not exactly how Al, an 86-year-old Korean War veteran, or Saundra, 76, had expected to spend their retirement.
Of all the financial threats facing Americans of retirement age - outliving savings, falling for scams, paying for long-term care - housing is not supposed to be one. But after a home price collapse, the worst recession since the 1930s and some calamitous decisions to turn homes into cash machines, millions of them are straining to make house payments.
The consequences can be severe. Retirees who use retirement money to pay housing costs can face disaster if their health deteriorates or their savings run short. They are more likely to need help from the government, charities or their children. Or they must keep working deep into retirement.
"It's a big problem coming off the housing bubble," said Cary Sternberg, who advises seniors on housing issues at the Villages, a Florida retirement community. "A growing number of seniors are struggling with what to do about their home and their mortgage and their retirement."
The baby boom generation was already facing a retirement crunch: over the past two decades, employers have largely eliminated traditional pensions, forcing workers to manage their retirement savings. Many boomers did not save enough, invested badly or raided their retirement accounts.