Borrowers can't afford to ignore the 6-month reverse mortgage rule, and neither can their heirs. Edgars Sermulis/Getty Images

For many older homeowners, home equity has become one of the most valuable financial resources they have.

Case in point? U.S. homeowners held a collective $17.8 trillion in home equity as of mid-2025, according to the August 2025 Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Mortgage Monitor report, with older adults making up a large share of that group. At the same time, retirement savings shortfalls are a growing concern, with viable, new questions about the long-term sustainability of the Social Security program .

Those financial concerns have helped to fuel an uptick in interest in retirement-focused financial tools like reverse mortgages , which allow s

See Full Page