Home Equity Conversion: Increasing the Private Incomes of the Elderly

  • July 24, 1983
  • • Written by: George Kaufman Jon Paulsen

Spring/Summer 1983, Vol 8, No 1

Abstract: The population of the United States is aging at a rapid rate. The percentage of persons 65 years or older was 11 percent in 1980 and is expected to reach 20 percent by 2020. The private incomes of the elderly are low on the average, and they often require governmental financial support which is an increasing burden on taxpayers. But all elderly are not poor in wealth. About 75 percent own their homes, and many own them outright. The authors explore how the elderly can convert the nonliquid equity in their homes into streams of income.