Tl;dr: My wife (F50’s) and I (M60’s) closed on our home late 2024. During the mortgage approval process, circumstances changed, so I opted to take early retirement, which likely helped us qualify for the loan. After closing, I withdrew my retirement request as it was the wisest financial choice. But I wonder if this could be construed as fraud?
I have a prior work service that makes me eligible to draw on a state retirement fund anytime I choose, with a lifetime guaranteed payout. Over the last 2 years, I have been deciding whether to take the retirement income now or wait 5-10 more years for a higher monthly check. Regardless, I plan to continue working another 5-10 years.
Pros to drawing retirement now: guaranteed monthly check, pays all bills, leaves extra to travel and invest, less struggle with job slowdowns.
Cons to drawing retirement now: guaranteed compounding of retirement, higher future benefits, and no guarantee that my investments will outperform.
Circumstance changes: My wife was unable to get a letter from her future employer proving her job, tipping the scales to take retirement, which helped us get approved. Now she’s employed at a better-paying job, making it smarter to cancel the retirement and wait for the benefits to compound.
I feel like the lender may view this as fraud if they knew. Thoughts?
Mai said:
You are overthinking this. Mortgage approval is about a snapshot in time, not locking you into the same income streams for the life of the loan.
I lost my job on closing day and didn’t tell them.