Harder for older US workers to pay off mortgage

New York

LIKE Archie Bunker, who celebrated paying off his home mortgage by burning his documents in a 1975 episode of All in the Family, many workers once routinely timed retirement to coincide with paying off a mortgage. But now older workers in the United States, stung by a punishing decline in house prices or high consumer debt, are increasingly unable to pay off their mortgages and are heading into their retirement years with substantial amounts outstanding.

They have also…