Mortgage Killer Accelerator

Strategy 83 of 107 · new for the five-year plan

Find lost pensions and old retirement accounts

Depends on people or program rulesFrom an asset you already ownFive-year size: helps at the margin

What it is

Search the PBGC's unclaimed pension database and the Department of Labor's Retirement Savings Lost and Found.

Steps

  1. Search the PBGC's unclaimed pension database and the Department of Labor's Retirement Savings Lost and Found.
  2. If a plan offers a lump sum and you are past 59½, a part can go to principal; otherwise roll it over and keep it growing.
  3. Ask former employers about plans you may have forgotten.

Repeat: Once, then after each job change.

Measure: Amount found.

Try it in the calculator Enter its amount in "One-time amount to principal". Add a payoff goal of 5 years to see what is still needed.

Risks

  • Cashing out before 59½ is taxed and usually penalized.
  • Never pay a finder.

Who it fits

Average household, Higher earners, Higher net worth, with assets, Business owners, Newlyweds, Married couples, College students, Single, Grandmas and grandpas (62 and over), No high school diploma, No college degree

Needs

Any homeowner with a mortgage.

How predictable

Depends on people or program rules (tenants, family, IRS records, lenders)

A worked example (hypothetical, not guaranteed)

Picture a hypothetical household (average household). They owe $300,000 at 6.5% with 30 years left. The required payment is $1,896 a month, and that payment, which comes from income, never changes in this example.

They follow the steps: search the PBGC's unclaimed pension database and the Department of Labor's Retirement Savings Lost and Found.

Suppose it brings a one-time $5,000 on principal. The loan would be paid off in 28 years 7 months instead of 30 years, saving about $28,411 in interest. To finish in five years, they would still need about $3,876 a month more from other strategies. That is why the five-year sequences stack several at once.

The amount above is chosen only to show the arithmetic. It is not an estimate of what this strategy will produce for anyone. Put real numbers from the fact finder into the calculator.

Sources and more information

Where to get help

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