Paying mortgage into retirement? Heres how you could plan your finances – National [Video]

A generation ago, it would have been unthinkable for many Canadians to carry the mortgage on their home into retirement. But for many on the cusp of retirement now, that’s no longer the case.

A survey of 1,626 Canadians conducted by real estate firm Royal LePage in May found that two per cent of Canadians expect to retire in 2025 and three per cent in 2026. Of these, around one-third (29 per cent) say they will continue to pay down their mortgage into their retirement years.

“Canadians today are much more inclined to carry debt because either working later into their lives or they’ve got some more disposable income that they can utilize to pay these things off down the road. But they’re not just saying, ‘I want to have my home paid off,’” said Shawn Zigelstein of Royal LePage.

Canadians are also buying their homes a lot later in life, one financial planner said.

“People are …