Down under, they’re doing things a bit different.
According to this report in Australian home loan publication Domain, the federal government is budgeting for everyone over 66 to get a reverse mortgage.
The piece by Chris Kohler states that it all started “Initially [as] a scheme for just part-pensioners, anyone over the retirement age can now access equity in their homes without selling them, as part of the sweeping budget measures aimed at improving the health and wealth of older Australians.”
It’s all part of the government there pursing an aging-in-place policy, one that has evaded the United States government for some time.
"Under the new plan, if a 66-year-old took up the proposed offer and lived until 91, he or she could receive a total of AUD$295,000 worth of ongoing payments, which would simultaneously be removed from their equity in their home,” Kohler writes.
The government dubbed the program the “more choices for a longer life package,” the report claims.