Why Retiring Debt-Free Secures Financial Peace in Retirement

Don’t let debt drain your savings when you leave the workforce. Learn why & how to avoid carrying your debt over so you can enjoy your dream retirement.

You’ve worked the majority of your life. You’ve earned the right to live out your ideal retirement. But unfortunately, debt has a way of sticking around and wrecking financial plans.

Mortgages, credit card debt, and auto loans are the three most common forms of debt in America, and if you’re not careful, they can follow you into retirement and turn what should be a carefree stage of life into a financial struggle.

While not all debt is created equal, understanding why and how to eliminate it before leaving the workforce is the best way to clear the path to financial comfort and stability during your twilight years.

Good Debt vs. Bad Debt

Depending on what kind you’re working with, entering retirement with debt isn’t necessarily the end of the world.

In fact, if it’s tied to potentially appreciating assets that will generate income over the years—like rental properties—it can wind up being a net positive.

However, timing is key in these situations.

When you’re trying to relax and enjoy your 70s, worrying about a mortgage will likely be at or near the bottom of your priority list. Not to mention, unexpected expenses can throw a wrench in your plans. And, perhaps most importantly, mortgages often aren’t the only elephant in the room.

When you add credit card debt, car loans, personal loans, and student loans to the equation—aka, “bad” debt—it can seem like that financial stormcloud might follow you for the rest of your life.

The long and short of it is that while some debt can be for a good cause, nobody wants to still be paying for college by the time their grandchildren graduate. The safest play is to eliminate everything but the “good” debt, if any, so you can retire in peace and live life on your terms.

Top 5 Reasons to Pay Off Your Debt Before Retirement

Protect Your Cash Flow
One of the most obvious issues with bringing debt into retirement is the negative impact on your cash flow.

Monthly payments can eat into your disposable income, limiting your ability to travel, enjoy hobbies, and make those fun little purchases that brighten you or a loved one’s day. They can also make it more difficult to handle unexpected expenses, like car trouble and healthcare costs.
Stave Off Unnecessary Financial Stress
Ideally, retirement is when your previous hard work translates into a comfortably high quality of life. But with the monkey of debt on your back, financial stress can erode your mental and physical health, preventing you from fully enjoying your departure from the workforce.

Stay Focused on Your Investments & Other Passive Income Sources
Without debt, you’ll be free to focus on building your legacy—whether through investments, family businesses, savings, or precious memories—that you can proudly pass down to the ones you love.

Avoid Having to Work Into Your Retirement Years
Running out of savings is the biggest risk of having debt after you retire. The whole point of a retirement plan is to have enough cash to carry you through your twilight years.

If you run out, you may be able to rely on the support of family and friends, but it still may not be enough.

With a debt-free start to retirement, you can save yourself from the final reason:

Avoid Outliving Your Savings
According to the Pew Research Center, the 75-and-older workforce is:

“...the fastest-growing age group in the workforce, more than quadrupled in size since 1964.”

Many factors contribute to this, the most obvious of which is that people simply live longer, healthier lives these days.

Others include pressing concerns, such as the ever-rising cost of living, changes in employer retirement plans, and social security policies that discourage retirement at the typical age of 65.

These obstacles add a level of uncertainty that can derail even the most meticulous and well-rounded retirement plan. And that’s before we even bring debt into the picture. To get out and stay out of the workforce, it’s almost always best to leave debt behind.

Retiring Debt-Free is Easier Than You Think

In today’s economic climate, it can seem impossible to go into retirement without at least some debt.

But that goal is much more within reach than you might think. And you won’t have to deal with endless hours of budgeting and penny-pinching to achieve it. Most people think they’re locked in to their 15, 20, or 30-year mortgage plan, but there’s a way to pay off your mortgage and all your other outstanding debts in as little as 7-10 years.

It employs advanced financial algorithms to dynamically adapt to your financial situation as it progresses, giving you precise guidance on what debts to pay off, how much, and when. If there’s any idle money lingering in your accounts, MMA will automatically identify it and tell you where to redirect it for maximum impact.

This award-winning software offers the inhuman consistency that only technology can provide, continuing to budget and adapt to your needs long after you would’ve fallen off trying to do it yourself.

The result?

Money Max Account saves users an average of $100,000 in interest payments on mortgages and other forms of debt. So far, it’s eliminated over $2.5 billion in debt, and that number continues to climb every day.

If you follow the MMA's mathematically precise suggestions, you can pay off everything, including your mortgage, student loans, credit cards, and more, in less than a decade. And that timeframe isn’t just something we made up for dramatic effect; it’s a consistent metric tens of thousands of clients have experienced time and time again.

After decades of dedication and sacrifice, you shouldn’t have to compromise on your retirement. Find out more about how the MMA works at our How it Works page, and fill out the form below to set up a free savings consultation with one of our debt elimination experts.