For someone who hasn't built up a retirement fund that will take care of them, a reverse mortgage can be their lifesaver. In this article a few of the arguments against reverse mortgages are addresses.

Having to use a reverse mortgage in retirement is not where you want to be.

So where do you think you are in relation to building enough money up to retire comfortably? Or at all? Or will you have to continue to work part time when you should be retired? It's well known that as a nation we are not saving enough for retirement.

If you're a No More Mortgage client, you should be going into retirement debt free. And you should have significantly added to your retirement account growth. Unfortunately, many others will retire with a mortgage and most likely credit card too. And many of them will have to continue to work in what should be their retirement years.

Read more on 15 Ways to slash spending in retirement….

What is your plan for your debt? Have you really made one yet? Most people put this off because they don't want to face the unknown. It's easier to keep tooling along blissfully ignorant of how much money you owe or where you are on building your retirement. But it's going to catch up with you,

If you're like most people, you think of the balances on your statements for your mortgage, credit cards, and other debts as what you owe.

Well, yes it is and no it isn't. Yes, at one moment in time a statement can show what you owe if you were to pay it off completely. And no it isn't when you factor in interest payments over time.

We're continuing the series of articles about five points you should know about Social Security and Retirement if you're 50 or over.

QUESTION 4: Will I lose benefits if I work? It's true that if you collect early and work at the same time, your payments may be reduced (once you reach full retirement age, feel free to toil away; your golf game might suffer, but there's no effect on your Social Security). Your checks will be reduced by $1 for every $2 you earn over an annual limit, currently $14,160 (the hit is considerably less during the calendar year you hit full retirement age). But despite what you often read or hear, you don't actually "lose" that money. At full retirement age Social Security will begin compensating you with a larger check for the benefits that were withheld. And you'll receive that higher payment for the rest of your life. If you are reasonably long-lived, you'll wind up collecting more -and you'll have extra income from your additional years as a wage slave. Working in retirement can also up your payments in other ways. Your check is based on your 35 highest years of wages. If you work fewer during your career, your benefit will be adjusted to reflect any extra years of work. Even if you clocked all 35 years pre-retirement, you could still get a bump if your annual earnings during your golden years were higher than some years earlier in your career.

Read more on A 5-step Primer on Social Security – Part III…

In a previous article, we began Part I of a discussion on Social Security and Retirement. Let's continue with more questions and answers:

QUESTION 2: How much will I get every month? Like all things Social Security, there's a complex formula involved. But essentially, the amount you'll get at your full retirement age is based on your average lifetime earnings, adjusted for rising wage levels over the years. Depending on when you were born, your full retirement age varies between 65 and 67. Grab your payments earlier than your full retirement age, and they'll be reduced: Wait, and you'll get more. Spouses can also qualify for up to 50% of their husband or wife's full retirement age payment; if that amount is larger than what you would get based on your own earnings, you'll get the higher figure. Similarly, if your spouse dies, you would receive a survivor's benefit of up to 100% of what your deceased spouse was collecting, if that amount is higher than your own payment. Divorced? You may still be eligible for spouse and survivor benefits as well. Your checks are also automatically adjusted for inflation each January. Payments increased by 5.8% for 2009. But given the near-term inflation outlook, the Congressional Budget Office estimates there may not be a cost of living increase for the next few years.

Read more on A 5-step Primer on Social Security, Part II…

Everyone 50 and over should know these principles by heart.

(Money Magazine) – You've probably spent a lot of time sweating over your 401(k) and IRA. But have you given much thought to the way Social Security will fit into your retirement plans? You should. In fact, Social Security provides 50% of the income for more than half of married retired couples and about 20% for high earners. Moreover, it's the only source of income you're likely to have that's guaranteed to last for life and keep pace with inflation. But given the complexity of the Social Security calculations, it's tough to figure out how to make the most of it. The amount of your monthly check will depend on when you retire, how much you and your spouse earned, and whether you work in retirement. "That makes it hard to plan," says former Social Security Administration deputy commissioner Andrew Biggs. The following guide will answer those questions and give you strategies that can help you maximize your benefits.

Read more on A 5-step Primer on Social Security, Part I…

NO MORE Mortgage looks at retirement

The point of this article is that in the USA, the “retirement safety net” is Social Security, which only covers about 45% of the retirement needs of the average retiree. The article does not even bring up the potential of the Social Security system to go broke in about 25 years, but that’s another story.

Read more on A Reluctance to Retire Means Fewer Openings…