Longtime reverse mortgage software and calculator provider IBIS Software is rolling out two new software platforms that allow both financial planners and loan originators to plug reverse mortgages into retirement planning portfolios based on the “6% rule” used among financial planners.
The new software features two distinct platforms, one for reverse mortgage loan originators and one geared specifically toward financial planners to understand how a reverse mortgage can supplement a portfolio during retirement.
The program projects the use of various types of reverse mortgages, including Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) insured by the Federal Housing Administration of both fixed rate and adjustable rate types.
The software is also up to date in terms of reverse mortgage disbursements under the HECM program changes that limit borrowers to draw 60% of the principal limit (or up to that amount plus 10% of the PLF in some cases) until the first year post-closing has passed.
“It does HECMs exactly right, in terms of tenure and term payments,” Ibis President Jerry Wagner says.
Development of the IBIS software comes on the heels of a recent article published by Wagner in the Journal of Financial Planning that utilized the 6% rule to determine the spending success of a retirement portfolio once a reverse mortgage is involved.
The study showed that with a 30-year spending horizon and a first-year withdrawal of 6%, reverse mortgages can provide spending success levels of 88-92%.
Financial planners have recently touted the benefits of reverse mortgage use in retirement planning in several published studies in the Journal of Financial planning, including a recent study published by Wagner. Ibis hopes for financial planners to incorporate the software into their existing calculators to further demonstrate how reverse mortgages can be of use.
View the originator version and financial advisor version of the program.
Written by Jason Oliva