The Toolbox

Should I Pay Off the Mortgage?

Alex Alston

The most-asked question in retirement. Most comparisons stop at "your rate versus your return," which misses the part that actually decides it for most households.

01The mortgage
02Where the money would come from This is the part that decides it
03The answer
04The things the arithmetic misses

This compares an interest rate against an expected return, then adjusts for how the money comes out of your accounts. Expected returns are not guaranteed and paying down a mortgage is. That asymmetry matters more than a percentage point either way.