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Should you pay off your mortgage or invest?

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  • Michelangeli, Valentina

Abstract

The mortgage payoff dilemma affects many retirees that have enough financial assets to pay off their mortgage. I find that, on average, retirees with less than $300,000 in non-housing financial wealth are better off keeping the mortgage and investing.

Suggested Citation

  • Michelangeli, Valentina, 2012. "Should you pay off your mortgage or invest?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 322-324.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:115:y:2012:i:2:p:322-324
    DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2011.12.021
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. John Y. Campbell & João F. Cocco, 2003. "Household Risk Management and Optimal Mortgage Choice," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(4), pages 1449-1494.
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    3. Joao F. Cocco, 2005. "Portfolio Choice in the Presence of Housing," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 18(2), pages 535-567.
    4. Olivieri, Annamaria, 2001. "Uncertainty in mortality projections: an actuarial perspective," Insurance: Mathematics and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 231-245, October.
    5. Cagetti, Marco, 2003. "Wealth Accumulation over the Life Cycle and Precautionary Savings," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 21(3), pages 339-353, July.
    6. Orazio Attanasio & Sagiri Kitao & Giovanni L. Violante, 2010. "Financing Medicare: A General Equilibrium Analysis," NBER Chapters, in: Demography and the Economy, pages 333-366, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Karen E. Dynan & Jonathan Skinner & Stephen P. Zeldes, 2002. "The Importance of Bequests and Life-Cycle Saving in Capital Accumulation: A New Answer," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(2), pages 274-278, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Groot, Stefan P.T. & Lejour, Arjan M., 2018. "Financial incentives for mortgage prepayment behavior: Evidence from Dutch micro data," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 237-250.
    2. Stefan Groot & Arjan Lejour, 2017. "Tax arbitrage incentives for mortgage prepayment behavior: Evidence from Dutch micro data," CPB Discussion Paper 350.rdf, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    3. Stefan Groot & Arjan Lejour, 2017. "Tax arbitrage incentives for mortgage prepayment behavior: Evidence from Dutch micro data," CPB Discussion Paper 350, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mortgage; Welfare; Elderly;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages

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