Mortgage Debt & Superannuation – An Unlikely Pair?

A relationship has been established around superannuation and mortgage debt that could impact the stability of your retirement.

As prospective Australian retirees approach their preservation ages and retirement, those who are yet to own their own homes may struggle to maintain a comfortable retirement. Retirement plans often work out a prospective financial situation, and assume that an owned home is an already existing asset.

Housing is quickly becoming a critical aspect of retirement, alongside the pension, super and voluntary savings as the main means of ensuring a comfortable retirement for future retirees.

Mortgage debt and the threat of continued payments to pay it off is something that workers must now take into consideration when looking into their retirement, as Australians struggle to pay off their homes. Can it be paid off without the extra income earned from their work?

As more and more Australians retire with healthy superannuation balances, the allure of using that money to pay down a mortgage is strong.

Factors that may be affecting retiree’s mortgage debts could include:

• Higher property prices (now ten times the average wage as compared with three or four times two decades ago).
• A delayed entry into the property market as they save for a deposit, leaving fewer working years to pay off the loan.
• Relatively low-interest rates – currently, every dollar used to pay down a mortgage is saving less than 3% on interest, while in superannuation that same dollar has the potential to return 7 or 8 per cent.

Paying down a mortgage is a growing problem for retirees who are increasingly leaving the workforce with mortgage debt, which is far from the norm among middle-income Australians as recent as a decade ago. Among retirees, homeowners in the years prior to retirement (ages 55-64) had dropped from 72% in 1995 to 42% in 2015-16.

However, those who began their working careers prior to the 1990s face another challenge as they move closer to their preservation age; the superannuation guarantee was only introduced in 1992, which means that many may have accumulated less superannuation than other generations after.

It is understandable that for those approaching retirement, preferencing super over mortgage could seem like a logical move, as the extra funds generated can be diverted back into property on retirement. Using superannuation to pay a mortgage can make some tax sense – in an assets test for the Age Pension, a primary residence is exempt while superannuation is not.

This may become a more common approach for retirees and those looking to retire within the next few years. However, you should consider what the best approach is for your situation, and whether paying off the mortgage with your super is worth it in the long run. Consulting with a professional before taking any action should be your first step in this process.