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Will you be paying off your mortgage long after you retire? Or maybe you're already retired and you're still sending that monthly check? You're not alone -- plenty of people still owe on their mortgage even in retirement. That's a lot less worrisome than the fact that some retirees have credit-card debt, but even with relatively decent interest rates on mortgages, who wouldn't rather enter retirement debt-free?

I'm 43 years old and just three years into my 30-year mortgage. That means I'll be 70 before I own my home free and clear (and given the current state of my retirement accounts, it might be that long before I retire, too).

Of course, that timeline doesn't take into account the possibility that I might start paying off my mortgage faster once my daughter's done with college, or the fact that I might refinance or take out a home-equity loan, or any of a variety of other scenarios. That timeline also ignores the possibility of my using some of my retirement savings to pay off my mortgage. But a new report says that, with savings yields so low, doing that -- tapping savings or investments to pay off a home loan -- makes more sense than letting your mortgage ride. Read Robert Powell's column today for more details on the report.

I'll have to wait until I'm closer to retirement to see whether that strategy is even a possibility for me, but I already know it would feel great to have zero outstanding loans.

, assistant personal finance editor

REAL ESTATE

Don't retire with a mortgage


Time was when everyone retired debt free, or at least without a mortgage. Now many people retire while still paying that monthly home-loan bill. But should you? The short answer, according to a new Boston College Center for Retirement Research report, is no, no, no.

Week-to-week mortgage filings up 2.8% as rates rise

Mortgage applications rose a seasonally adjusted 2.8% last week from the prior week, overcoming higher interest rates charged on fixed-rate home loans, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's survey released Wednesday.

Commentary: Encouraging signs

It seems the bottom in the housing market has come and gone -- or, if not gone, at least been getting its coat and hat on. Wednesday's report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency shows that home prices seem to be stabilizing, albeit at a heavy discount from recent years' levels.

U.S. home prices rise 0.9%

U.S. home prices rose 0.9% in May, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported Wednesday, with strong gains in the Pacific and East North Central regions.

INVESTING

Commentary: Is it time to pick markets, not stocks? Maybe

The cheesiest line in investing is that "It's a stock-picker's market." It's intended to mean that the times require superior selection abilities to make money, when the truth is that being an above-average money manager requires superior skills regardless of conditions. In short, it's always a stock-picker's market. But the new thinking for many investors and industry watchers is a bit different, and it can be summed up like this: "It's a market-picker's market."

Bill Miller finds his footing

Mutual-fund manager Bill Miller, whose famed Legg Mason Value Trust was broadsided in the market's collapse, continues to see a brighter light at the end of the tunnel.

Long-derided, variable annuities now look wise

One of the best investments of the past decade was one of the most derided: the variable annuity. But investors who want in on the action now are in for a shock, as the juiciest deals have disappeared from the market.

Despite profits, Apple is no investment opportunity

It's been a heck of a ride for Apple investors. The stock, which has nearly doubled so far this year, will likely bounce after its latest earnings report. Over the past five years the stock has gained an average of 56% a year, an extraordinary achievement. But if you are investor in this stock, brace yourself for a dose of reality. The shares' best days are surely behind them. Future returns will be much more modest -- and the risks will be greater.

Commentary: Pay attention to value stocks with strong momentum

Value investing and momentum investing are like oil and water. The two strategies are at odds with one another and in many senses are polar opposites, at least according to conventional wisdom.

Technology, mobile telecom stocks drive value-focused fund

Most mutual-fund managers view cash in their portfolios as something to spend, not save. Even managers of balanced funds, which blend stocks and bonds, prefer to opt out of safe, low-yielding cash.

ECONOMY & POLITICS

Goldman: U.S. made 23% return supporting bank

The U.S. government made a 23% return supporting Goldman Sachs during the global financial crisis, the investment bank said Wednesday as it unwound one of the last taxpayer-funded investments it received last year.

Treasury: Value of TARP warrants can only be estimated

A key Treasury official on Wednesday responded to concerns raised that financial institutions are buying out warrants they gave the government in exchange for taxpayer-fund capital injections at below their fair value by saying that the values can only be estimated.

CONSUMERS

Credit-card dispute process in disarray

Two major arbitration firms are backing away from the business of resolving disputes between customers and their credit-card and cell phone companies, throwing into disarray a controversial system that prevents unhappy consumers from filing lawsuits.


HEALTH CARE

Your stake in the health overhaul

For months, politicians have been debating how to overhaul health care. Now it's time for consumers to start paying attention. The bills that lawmakers are beginning to move forward are sweeping enough to affect nearly everyone--no matter where people get their insurance. Some of the effects are obvious. For instance, if you're uninsured, you'd be much more likely to have coverage under the proposals now being considered.

Piece by piece, health reform could add up for Obama

President Barack Obama doesn't want to hear it, but his Herculean drive to overhaul the U.S. health-care system doesn't necessarily have to be comprehensive, or even quick. Over roughly the past week, Obama has made almost daily calls for passing a bill that would extend coverage to the nearly 50 million Americans who lack insurance.

Reform stakes run high

President Barack Obama is expected to pitch his goals for health-care reform to the country Wednesday in prime time, as he and his allies in Congress struggle to fashion an overhaul of the system and allay fears even among some Democrats about the inherent costs.