Mortgages for retirees No paycheck? Your savings can still qualify you.
You don’t need a job to get a mortgage. Lenders count Social Security, pensions and retirement withdrawals, and Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Non-QM lenders can each turn savings you haven’t touched into qualifying income. Here is how each route works, how it compares with a HECM for Purchase and with paying cash, and what to have ready.
The short answer: you don’t need a job to get a mortgage in retirement. Lenders count Social Security, pensions, annuities and steady retirement-account withdrawals as income. Savings you haven’t started drawing can count too: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Non-QM lenders each have a way to turn them into qualifying income without making you cash them out. Federal law generally bars a lender from turning you down because of your age. If you’re 62 or older and buying, price a HECM for Purchase beside the regular mortgage before you choose.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: a lender is “generally not allowed to make credit decisions based on your age alone.” Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.4-06; Freddie Mac Guide Section 5307.1.
What lenders count when you’re retired
The test is the one every borrower faces: is the income documented, and is it likely to continue?
| Income | How it counts |
|---|---|
| Social Security | Counted from your award letter or bank statements. If it isn’t taxed for you, Fannie Mae lets the lender count it for more than its face amount. |
| Pension or annuity | Counted from the award letter or the payer’s statement. |
| IRA or 401(k) withdrawals already set up | Counted when the account can keep paying them for at least three years. |
| Savings you haven’t started drawing | Can be turned into qualifying income; the three ways are below. |
| Part-time work or rental income | Counted, with records showing it’s likely to continue. |
Sources: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.4-03, Annuity, Pension, or Retirement Income (three-year continuance); Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.1-01, General Income Information (income that isn’t taxed).
Three ways your savings can qualify you
Each one turns a balance into a monthly figure the lender can use. The money stays yours and stays invested; the lender needs to see that it’s there and yours to draw on.
| Program | What it can count | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Fannie MaeRetirement assets as income (Selling Guide B3-3.4-06) | 401(k), IRA, SEP and Keogh accounts, and a lump-sum retirement or severance payout | What’s left after the down payment, closing costs, reserves and any early-withdrawal penalty is spread over the loan term. Purchase or limited cash-out refinance, on a primary or second home. More room to borrow when the account owner is 62 or older. |
| Freddie MacAssets as a basis for repayment (Guide Section 5307.1) | Retirement accounts, and bank and brokerage accounts | Purchase or no-cash-out refinance. Freddie Mac widened this rule in August 2026; lenders can use the new version now, and it is required for loans closing on or after February 3, 2027. |
| Non-QM asset depletionLenders’ own programs, outside Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rules | Most liquid assets, by each lender’s rules | Can work with little or no other income, and for files the agencies won’t take. Priced above Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans. |
Which one fits depends on the mix of accounts, your other income, the property and the price. I run the file through each before you apply, and I’ll tell you when a Non-QM loan’s extra cost isn’t worth it.
Program rules as published by Fannie Mae and in Freddie Mac’s 2026 update; lenders can add requirements of their own. Every loan is subject to credit and property approval. Sources: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.4-06, Employment-Related Assets as Qualifying Income (March 4, 2026); Freddie Mac Seller/Servicer Guide Section 5307.1, Assets as a basis for repayment of obligations (revised by Guide Bulletin 2026-10).
A regular mortgage, a HECM for Purchase, or cash
For a buyer 62 or older, these are the three real choices. None is right for everyone.
| What matters | Regular mortgage qualified on savings | HECM for Purchase | Paying cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who can use it | Any age | 62 or older | Anyone with the cash |
| Monthly mortgage payment | Yes, principal and interest | None required; you can pay if you choose | None |
| Cash needed to buy | A down payment and closing costs | A larger down payment, set by age and rates, plus closing costs | The whole price and closing costs |
| Your savings | Stay invested; the lender counts them but doesn’t take them | Part goes into the house; no monthly payment draws on the rest | Mostly go into the house |
| Second home | Allowed | No, primary residence only | Allowed |
| Loan balance over time | Falls as you pay | Grows as interest and FHA insurance accrue, unless you pay | No loan |
| Property taxes, insurance, upkeep | Yours | Yours; falling behind can make the loan due | Yours |
If you want no required mortgage payment and plan to stay, a HECM for Purchase usually fits better. If you’d rather keep more cash invested and are comfortable with a payment, the regular mortgage often does. Paying cash is the simplest, and leaves the least money free. I’ll price the first two on the same house so you can see both.
How HECM for Purchase works →
How much home a HECM for Purchase buys →
In every case a reverse mortgage borrower remains responsible for property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, and home maintenance; failing those obligations can make the loan due and payable.
Your age can’t be held against you
Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, a lender generally can’t make a credit decision based on your age alone, or charge you more because of it. It can’t discount or refuse to count income from pensions, annuities, retirement benefits or Social Security. It can still ask how much income there is and whether it will continue, the same question it asks of a paycheck.
Three things to settle first
- Where the down payment comes from. Money taken out of a traditional IRA or 401(k) is generally taxable that year, and the extra income can raise Medicare premiums two years later. Ask your CPA which account to draw from. Retirement income, taxes and Medicare premiums →
- Your property tax base. If you’re 55 or older and selling a California home to buy another, Prop 19 can move your taxable value to the new home, up to three times. Prop 19 and your tax base →
- What you keep in reserve. Lenders count savings, but you still need money for repairs, care and emergencies. A loan that qualifies on paper should leave you comfortable in practice.
What to have ready
- This year’s Social Security and pension award letters.
- Recent statements for every retirement, bank and brokerage account; some programs ask for a full year.
- Your last two federal tax returns, if you file.
- For a refinance: your current mortgage statement and homeowner’s insurance policy.
- For a purchase: your price range, and when your current home will sell if you’re selling it.
Bring what you have to the first call and I’ll tell you what’s missing.
Questions retirees ask about mortgages
Can I get a mortgage if I’m retired and have no job?
Can a lender turn me down because of my age?
Do I have to cash out my IRA to qualify?
Should I use a HECM for Purchase instead?
Can I buy a second home on my savings?
Is it smarter to pay cash?
Where these rules come from
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, “Is a lender allowed to consider my age or where my income comes from when deciding whether to give me a loan?”
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.4-06, Employment-Related Assets as Qualifying Income (March 4, 2026)
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.4-03, Annuity, Pension, or Retirement Income (three-year continuance)
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-3.1-01, General Income Information (income that isn’t taxed)
- Freddie Mac Seller/Servicer Guide Section 5307.1, Assets as a basis for repayment of obligations (revised by Guide Bulletin 2026-10)
Program rules change, and lenders can add requirements of their own. Every loan is subject to credit and property approval. Not tax or legal advice.
Written by Kenneth M. Adler
Broker & Owner, Ideal Financial, Inc. · 30 years in California lending · NMLS #240317 · CA DRE #01216608
Published October 9, 2026 · Last reviewed October 9, 2026
Every page on this site is written and maintained by me: the same person who answers the phone, runs your numbers, and handles your file start to finish. No call center, no hand-offs, no lead-selling. More about how I work →
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