HELOC for Seniors: Home Equity Loans, Reverse Mortgages and More

A HELOC for seniors is underwritten like any other HELOC: under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, a lender may not reject your application because of your age, and it may not discount income because it comes from Social Security, a pension or an annuity. The real choice at 62 or older is among a monthly payment you can carry (a HELOC or home equity loan), no payment in exchange for a share of your home’s future value (a home equity agreement), and no payment with a loan balance that grows (a reverse mortgage).

What a lender may do is check that your income will last as long as the loan and ask for proof that you receive it. So the questions that settle this are practical ones: what payment your retirement income could carry, when the money has to be settled, and what is left for your heirs. This guide is written for homeowners and for adult children reading on a parent’s behalf. It is part of our home equity guides.

Home equity loans for seniors and the other options at a glance

These are the five ways a retiree could turn home equity into cash. Read across a row to see what each one asks of you now and what it leaves owing later.

Option	Monthly payment	Age requirement	How income is considered	What you owe, and when	What it means for heirs	Best for
HELOC	Yes. Often interest only while you can draw, then principal and interest	None, beyond being old enough to sign a contract	Reviewed with your credit and debts. Social Security, pension and annuity income must be counted	What you drew plus interest, paid monthly, usually at a variable rate	They inherit the home with the balance still owed	Steady retirement income and costs that come in stages
Home equity loan	Yes. Equal payments, usually at a fixed rate	None, beyond being old enough to sign a contract	The same review as a HELOC	The lump sum plus interest, paid monthly over a fixed term	They inherit the home with the balance still owed	One known cost and a payment that does not change
Reverse mortgage (HECM)	No. You still pay property taxes, insurance and upkeep	62 or older	Typically no income requirement. The lender checks that you could keep up taxes and insurance	Everything you received plus interest and fees, due when the last borrower dies, sells or moves out	They pay the balance or 95% of the appraised value, whichever is less, or the home is sold	Staying in the home for life with no new payment
Home equity agreement	No. You still pay your mortgage, taxes and insurance	None stated by the three companies below	No income requirement at the three companies below	A share of the home’s value in one settlement, when you sell or by the end of the term, often 10 years	The agreement stays with the home. Heirs or the estate settle it	Selling or downsizing within the term
Selling or downsizing	No	None	Not considered, unless you finance the next home	Nothing. Any mortgage is paid off from the sale	They inherit what remains of the proceeds, not the house	A home that costs more to keep than your budget allows

How each product works comes from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission and HUD. The agreement row reflects the published terms of Unlock, Hometap and Splitero as of October 6, 2026.

Estimate firstUse our home equity calculator to estimate what you could get before you give any company your details.

One thing is true of every row but the last: the home secures the deal. Fall behind on a HELOC or home equity loan, or on the property taxes and insurance that a reverse mortgage or an agreement requires you to keep paying, and the home itself is at risk.

Can seniors get a HELOC or home equity loan?

Yes. Age alone may not be the reason a lender says no. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act makes it illegal for a creditor to discriminate on the basis of age, and the Federal Trade Commission’s guidance says a creditor must not reject your application because of it. A creditor may consider your age only in narrow cases: you are too young to sign a contract, you are at least 62 and the creditor favors you for it, or your age helps it weigh another factor, such as whether your income is about to drop because you are retiring.

Regulation B, the rule that carries out the law, gives its own example: a creditor may not reject an application because the applicant is 60 years old. It may look at whether your income, including retirement income, will support the credit until it is paid off. It may also look at whether the home is adequate security when the term runs past the applicant’s life expectancy and the cost of collecting could exceed the owner’s equity. In the regulation’s words, an older applicant might not qualify for a 30-year mortgage with 5% down but might qualify with a larger down payment or a shorter term.

In practice, a retiree with solid equity and income that covers the payment is judged like any other applicant, on credit, debts, income and equity. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s home equity guide for older homeowners says lenders typically require you to keep at least 10% to 20% of your home’s value as equity after a HELOC or home equity loan. If your credit score is the obstacle, our guide to getting a home equity loan with bad credit sorts the options by score.

How retirement income is counted

The law also covers where your income comes from. A creditor may not discount or refuse to consider income because it comes from Social Security, a pension, an annuity or part-time work, the FTC says. It may ask for proof that you receive the income consistently, and Regulation B lets it weigh the amount and how long the income is likely to continue.

No single federal rule tells HELOC lenders which documents to accept. The clearest published standard is Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide, which sets the rules for first mortgages that lenders sell to Fannie Mae. It is not a HELOC rule, and each HELOC lender writes its own, but it shows what a mortgage underwriter is trained to ask for.

Income source	What Fannie Mae’s guide asks a lender to document
Social Security retirement benefits	An SSA award letter, an SSA-1099, your most recent tax return or proof of current receipt. For benefits on your own work record, the lender does not have to verify that they will continue unless it has reason to think they may not.
Pension or annuity	A statement from the payer, an award letter, a bank statement, a tax return, a W-2 or a 1099. A fixed payment needs no minimum history.
Withdrawals from a 401(k) or IRA	Evidence that the withdrawals are expected to continue for at least three years. Account balances may be combined to show that. Withdrawals that vary are averaged over the most recent 12 months.
Retirement savings you are not drawing on	Sometimes called asset depletion. Eligible retirement assets are divided by the number of months in the loan term to produce a monthly income figure. Fannie Mae allows this only for a home purchase or a limited cash-out refinance, so ask a HELOC lender whether it has its own version.

Fannie Mae Selling Guide sections B3-3.4-15, B3-3.4-03 and B3-3.4-06, each dated March 4, 2026.

Here is one lender’s own version. Figure, the HELOC lender featured below, says applicants must be employed, self-employed or retired. It verifies the income you state by analyzing deposits in the accounts you connect during the application, which may be bank accounts, qualified asset accounts such as retirement, IRA, 401(k) and brokerage accounts, tax returns or pay stubs.

What a HELOC payment does to a fixed income

Three features of a traditional HELOC matter more once your income has stopped rising. The rate is usually variable, so the payment could climb. Many lines ask for interest only during a draw period that usually lasts 10 years and then require principal and interest, which means a larger payment later in retirement. And the FTC notes that a lender may freeze or reduce your line if your home’s value falls significantly, or if it reasonably believes a material change in your finances will keep you from making the payments.

A home equity loan avoids the first two. You receive a lump sum and typically repay it in equal monthly payments at a fixed rate. Some newer HELOCs, including the one from Figure, sit in between: the full amount is drawn at closing and a fixed rate is available. With any of them the home is the collateral, and if you do not repay as agreed the lender could foreclose.

If a payment fits your budget: a HELOC

If your retirement income covers a payment and your credit is in good shape, start here. The CFPB’s list of alternatives to a reverse mortgage says a home equity loan or line of credit might be a cheaper way to borrow against your equity, while noting that these loans usually have monthly payments and depend on your income and credit.

Figure is the HELOC we feature for this reader because it lends on paid-off homes as well as behind an existing mortgage, it accepts retired applicants, and it publishes its numbers.

HELOC: if a payment fits

$15,000 to $750,000, as a first lien on a paid-off home or behind your current mortgage
APRs from 7.35% to 14.85% as of October 6, 2026, with fixed and variable rate options
Applicants may be employed, self-employed or retired, with income verified during the application
Terms of 10, 15, 20 or 30 years, with no prepayment penalty
Minimum credit score of 600 in most states for qualifying loans, according to Figure’s FAQ
Funding in as few as 5 days for qualifying loans under $400,000

Find My Rate at Figure

The catch: this is not a standby line. Figure draws the full amount at closing, minus an origination fee of up to 4.99% of the initial draw, so the payment and the interest start on day one and apply to the whole balance. Approval depends on verified income. Figure does not accept applications made under a power of attorney, and it does not lend on homes held in a life estate or an irrevocable trust, which matters if a parent’s home has already been through estate planning. It is available in 48 states and Washington, D.C., but not in Hawaii or New York, and the minimum is higher in Alaska ($25,001) and Texas ($35,000). If you want a line to leave untouched for emergencies, a traditional HELOC from a bank or credit union fits that better.

Next stepSee your rate at Figure. Figure says checking your rate will not affect your credit score, and that submitting a full application leads to a hard credit pull.

Is there a HELOC made only for seniors?

One, by name. HELOC For Seniors is a registered product name of Longbridge Financial, a reverse mortgage lender, and unlike a standard HELOC it sets a minimum age. Federal rules allow that, because Regulation B permits credit programs that favor applicants who are 62 or older. Longbridge’s page lists these terms: age 62 or older, a credit score of 660 or higher, a debt-to-income ratio of up to 50%, a line of $50,000 to $400,000 on a primary residence, and a first draw of at least 80% of the line at closing.

It works as a cross between the two products in the next section. You make interest-only payments for the life of the loan at a rate that is fixed for each draw, and the principal generally comes due when you permanently leave the home, whether you sell, relocate or die. We mention it because its name matches the phrase this page is about, and because it shows that a monthly payment and a balance due at the end are not mutually exclusive.

HELOC vs. reverse mortgage: how a reverse mortgage works

A reverse mortgage turns the HELOC trade around. There is no monthly mortgage payment, and nothing has to be repaid while you live in the home and keep up its costs. In exchange, interest and fees are added to the balance every month, so the amount you owe grows and your equity shrinks. The CFPB puts it this way: a reverse mortgage is not free money.

Most reverse mortgages are Home Equity Conversion Mortgages, or HECMs. HUD describes the HECM as the only reverse mortgage insured by the federal government, available only through lenders approved by the Federal Housing Administration. These are the federal rules.

HECM rule	What it says
Age	62 or older. The age of the youngest borrower helps set how much you could receive.
The home	Your principal residence, owned outright or with a mortgage balance low enough to pay off at closing.
Counseling	Required before the loan, with a HUD-approved reverse mortgage counseling agency. The FTC says the fee is often around $125 and that you cannot be turned away if you cannot afford it.
Income and credit	Typically no income requirement. The lender runs a financial assessment and may set aside part of the loan to cover property taxes and insurance.
2026 limit	HUD’s maximum claim amount for calendar year 2026 is $1,249,125. That is the most home value the program will count, not the amount you receive.
Your ongoing obligations	Pay property taxes and homeowners insurance on time, keep the home in good repair and live in it as your principal residence. If you do not, you could lose the home to foreclosure.
When it comes due	When the last surviving borrower, or an eligible non-borrowing spouse, dies, sells the home or no longer lives there. That includes more than 12 consecutive months in a health care facility, or more than six months away for other reasons, when no co-borrower lives in the home.
Non-recourse protection	Because of the mortgage insurance on a HECM, the CFPB says you never owe more than 95% of what the home is worth when the loan is due. Heirs who want to keep the home pay the full balance or 95% of its appraised value, whichever is less. For any other reverse mortgage, the FTC says to check that the contract has a non-recourse clause.
Costs	An origination fee of up to $6,000, third-party closing costs and an initial mortgage insurance premium. After that, interest, servicing fees and an annual mortgage insurance premium of 0.5% of the balance are added to what you owe.
Right to cancel	With most reverse mortgages, three business days after closing, in writing, for any reason.

From HUD, CFPB and FTC pages read October 6, 2026. The 2026 limit is set in HUD Mortgagee Letter 2025-22.

HELOC vs. reverse mortgage, side by side

Question	HELOC	Reverse mortgage
Monthly payment	Yes	No
What you need to qualify	Income, credit and equity	Age 62, equity, counseling and a financial assessment
Cost to set up	Usually lower	Typically higher, largely because of mortgage insurance
Balance over time	Falls as you make payments	Rises every month
End date	The end of the repayment period	None while you live in the home and meet the obligations
If you may sell within a couple of years	The CFPB suggests options with lower upfront costs, like a HELOC	The fees may not be worth the short-term access to money

The CFPB also suggests waiting if you are at the young end of eligibility. Take out a reverse mortgage too early, it says, and you may run out of money when you are older and more likely to have less income and higher health care bills.

If a reverse mortgage looks right, start with a counselor, not a lender. HUD’s counselor line is (800) 569-4287, and HUD warns against anyone who charges thousands of dollars for reverse mortgage information that it provides free.

Home equity agreements for retirees: the end date is the main risk

A home equity agreement gives you a lump sum now in exchange for a share of your home’s future value. There is no monthly payment to the company and, at the three companies below, no income requirement, which is why agreements are marketed to homeowners on fixed incomes. You keep paying property taxes, insurance and upkeep, along with your mortgage if you have one.

The difference from a reverse mortgage is the clock. A reverse mortgage generally lets you stay until you move or die. An agreement has a fixed term, and by the end of it you must settle in a single payment, by selling the home, refinancing or using savings. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which calls these products home equity contracts, describes them as expensive compared with other home-secured financing and says homeowners who want to stay in their homes must either use other assets or qualify for new financing to settle.

That makes an agreement a reasonable fit for one kind of retiree and a poor fit for another. It could suit you if you already plan to sell or downsize within the term, because the sale settles the agreement and your monthly budget stayed intact in the meantime. It does not suit you if you intend to stay for the rest of your life and have neither savings nor qualifying income to settle with, because at the end of the term the remaining way to settle is to sell the home.

Three companies fit by credit minimum and state coverage. We lead with Unlock for this reader because it lets you buy out the agreement in parts during the term, subject to its approval, which gives a retiree a way to shrink the final settlement ahead of the end date.

Buy out in stages

$15,000 to $500,000 for a 10-year term in 26 states. Minimum credit score of 500, at least 30% home equity and no income requirement.

Get an Estimate at Unlock

575 FICO and up, 27 states

Hometap could invest $15,000 to $600,000 for a 10-year term if you have at least 25% equity in your home and a property located in an eligible state, among other qualifying criteria.

Get an Estimate at Hometap

Longer term with a mortgage

$50,000 to $600,000 in eligible areas of 17 states. Minimum credit score of 500 and no income requirement. The term matches your remaining mortgage, up to 30 years.

Get an Estimate at Splitero

What happens at the end of each term

Read this before you ask for an estimate. Each answer is the company’s own, taken from its website.

Company	Term	If you have not settled by the end	If you die during the term	Age rule
Unlock	10 years	You must settle by selling the home or buying Unlock out. Not settling at the end of the term is an event of default.	A surviving co-owner who signed keeps the agreement unchanged. Otherwise your heirs or estate settle by selling or buying Unlock out, with at least 180 days to do it.	No age requirements, Unlock says
Hometap	10 years	Hometap says it may exercise its right to acquire a percent ownership interest in the property and then work with you to sell it.	For a sole homeowner, the obligation to settle passes to the estate and the lien stays on the property. With a second homeowner, Hometap says there are no changes to the agreement.	None listed in its FAQ
Splitero	As long as your remaining mortgage, from 10 to 30 years. With no mortgage, 10 years	Splitero says you could refinance, pay with cash or sell the house, and that a new investment to replace the first one may be an option.	The agreement runs with the property, and its terms stay in place for heirs until it is repurchased.	No age requirement, Splitero says

From the FAQ and disclosure pages of Unlock, Hometap and Splitero, read October 6, 2026.

The cost side is the same trade at all three. You give up a share of the home’s future value, so the more the home is worth when you settle, the more settling costs, and it could come to far more than the cash you received. Fees also reduce the cash you receive: Unlock’s origination fee is 4.9% and Splitero’s is 4.99%. Hometap charges 4.5% of the Investment amount, up to $20,000, and its fees are deducted from your investment proceeds rather than paid upfront.

Our Hometap review walks through what settling could cost in each year of the term. For the other two, see our Unlock review and our Splitero review.

If 10 years is too short, two other companies publish longer terms. Point lists a 30-year term for its home equity investment, with no monthly payments and no income requirements, and Unison lists a 30-year term for its equity sharing agreement. A longer term moves the settlement date. It does not remove it, so ask each company what your estate would have to settle, and by when, if you die during the term.

More: Best home equity agreement companies compared

Where you live narrows this further. Among the six home equity agreement companies we track, seven states have none: Alaska, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota and West Virginia. In Texas, only Nada lists the state. In all eight, a HELOC or home equity loan is usually the practical route, and at 62 or older a reverse mortgage is another.

Next stepGet an estimate from Unlock, Hometap or Splitero, then ask what settling would cost in the year you expect to sell.

Benefits, heirs and scams: what matters more at this age

Social Security, Medicare, SSI and Medicaid

The FTC says the money from a reverse mortgage is typically tax-free and will not affect your Social Security or Medicare benefits.

Supplemental Security Income is different, because it has a resource limit: $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a couple, not counting the home you live in. The Social Security Administration says money from a valid loan is not income and does not reduce your SSI benefit, but any of it you have not spent in the month you receive it counts toward the resource limit beginning the next month. A lump sum from a HELOC, a home equity loan or a reverse mortgage that sits in the bank could therefore cost you SSI for any month you start over the limit.

That SSA page covers loans. A home equity agreement is set up differently, and we could not find an SSA page that says how its proceeds are treated, so if you receive SSI, call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213 before you sign one. Medicaid is run by each state, so put the same question about any lump sum to your state Medicaid agency. The CFPB adds that a reverse mortgage might affect programs such as local property tax relief.

What your heirs inherit

Option	What your heirs deal with
HELOC or home equity loan	The home, with the balance still owed. The CFPB’s guide says the debt has to be repaid by your heirs, which may mean they need to sell the house.
Reverse mortgage	A balance that has grown. Once the loan is due, heirs have 30 days to buy the home, sell it or turn it over to the lender, and the CFPB says that may be extended up to six months. To keep the home they pay the full balance or 95% of its appraised value, whichever is less.
Home equity agreement	The agreement, still attached to the home. Each company’s answer is in the table above.
Selling or downsizing	Whatever is left of the sale proceeds, with nothing attached to it.

Whichever you choose, tell your heirs and your executor now. The CFPB and Unlock both give that advice.

Scams and pressure aimed at older homeowners

Home equity draws sales pressure. These are the patterns federal agencies warn about.

The pitch	What the agency says
A contractor suggests a reverse mortgage or a loan to pay for repairs	The CFPB says to beware of contractors who approach you this way, often by knocking on your door, and not to let yourself be pressured.
A special reverse mortgage for veterans	The Department of Veterans Affairs does not offer reverse mortgages, the CFPB says.
A fee for reverse mortgage information	HUD warns about scam artists who charge thousands of dollars for information that is free from HUD.
A salesperson wants the proceeds put into an annuity or another product	The FTC says you do not have to buy any other product to get a reverse mortgage, and that in some situations it is illegal to insist on it.
A last-minute email changes where to wire your closing money	The FTC calls this a scam. Contact your lender at a number you know is real.

You also have time to back out. A HELOC or home equity loan on your main home, and most reverse mortgages, come with a three-day right to cancel after closing. If something looks wrong, report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

How to choose

Find the row that sounds like you. If two rows fit, price both.

If this is you	Start with
Your retirement income comfortably covers a new payment	A HELOC or a home equity loan. Figure is the HELOC on this page.
You are 62 or older, plan to stay for life and could not add a payment	A reverse mortgage. Begin with a HUD-approved counselor.
You plan to sell or downsize within about 10 years and want no payment until then	A home equity agreement. Unlock, Hometap and Splitero are the three on this page.
You plan to stay for life and have no savings or income to settle with later	Not an agreement. Compare a reverse mortgage with selling.
You are under 62 and could not add a payment	An agreement with a written plan for the end date, or downsizing. A HECM is not available yet.
The house costs more to keep than you could afford	Selling or downsizing, which the CFPB lists among the alternatives to a reverse mortgage.
You receive SSI or Medicaid	Ask the agency before you take any lump sum.

A note on selling: if the house was your main home for at least two of the last five years, the IRS says you may qualify to exclude up to $250,000 of the gain from your income, or up to $500,000 on a joint return.

Steps to take before you sign anything

Price the house you have. List what it costs to keep each year: property taxes, insurance, repairs and any mortgage. Every option except selling leaves those bills with you.
Estimate your equity. Subtract what you owe from a realistic value for the home. Our equity calculator, linked above, gives you a starting figure.
Decide whether a payment fits. Use your Social Security, pension and withdrawal income, not your savings balance. If a payment does not fit, go to step 5.
Gather your income papers and price a HELOC or home equity loan. Have your SSA award letter or SSA-1099, pension or annuity statements and account statements ready, then compare at least two lenders on rate, fees and payment.
If you are 62 or older, book reverse mortgage counseling. It is required for a HECM, and the CFPB says you may talk to a counselor even while you are only considering one. HUD’s line is (800) 569-4287.
If you are weighing an agreement, plan the exit first. Write down how you would settle it: a sale, savings or a loan you could qualify for. Then ask the company what settling would cost in the year you expect to do it.
Check your benefits and tell your family. If you receive SSI or Medicaid, ask the agency before you take a lump sum. Tell your heirs and executor what you plan to sign.

Frequently asked questions

Can you get a HELOC on Social Security income?

Yes, if the income supports the payment. Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, a lender may not discount or refuse to consider income because it comes from Social Security, a pension or an annuity, though it may ask for proof that you receive it. Figure says applicants for its HELOC must be employed, self-employed or retired, and it verifies income during the application.

Can a 70-year-old get a HELOC or a home equity loan?

Yes. A lender may not reject an application because of the applicant’s age. Regulation B does let a lender consider whether your income, including retirement income, will support the loan until it is paid off. In the regulation’s own example, an older applicant who does not qualify for a 30-year mortgage might qualify with a shorter term.

Is a HELOC or a reverse mortgage better for seniors?

It depends on whether you could carry a payment. A HELOC usually costs less to set up but requires a monthly payment and enough income to qualify. A reverse mortgage has no monthly payment and no set end date while you live in the home, but the balance grows every month and the closing costs are typically higher. The CFPB suggests options with lower upfront costs, like a HELOC, if you may sell within a couple of years.

What are the alternatives to a reverse mortgage?

The CFPB lists waiting, a home equity loan or line of credit, refinancing, downsizing and lowering your expenses. A home equity agreement is another route with no monthly payment, but it has a fixed term, often 10 years, and must be settled in a single payment by the end.

What happens when a home equity agreement ends and I still live in the home?

You have to settle it. Unlock says you must sell the home or buy the company out. Hometap says that if you do not settle by the end of the term, it may exercise its right to acquire a percent ownership interest in the property and then work with you to sell it. Splitero says you could refinance, pay with cash or sell, and that a new investment to replace the first may be an option.

Is there an age limit for a home equity agreement?

Unlock and Splitero each say there is no age requirement, and the FAQ at Hometap does not list one. The product with an age rule is the reverse mortgage, which requires borrowers to be 62 or older.

Will taking money out of my home affect Social Security, Medicare, SSI or Medicaid?

The FTC says reverse mortgage money typically will not affect Social Security or Medicare benefits. SSI is different: the Social Security Administration says loan proceeds are not income, but any amount you have not spent in the month you receive it counts toward the $2,000 resource limit ($3,000 for a couple) beginning the next month. Medicaid rules are set by each state, so ask your state agency before you take a lump sum.

What is the reverse mortgage limit for 2026?

HUD set the HECM maximum claim amount at $1,249,125 for calendar year 2026. That is the most home value the program counts, not a loan amount. How much you could receive also depends on the age of the youngest borrower and the interest rate.

Can I apply for a home equity product on behalf of my parent?

You may help, but the homeowner has to sign. Figure says it does not accept applications made under a power of attorney, and Unlock requires every owner on the title to sign its agreement. For a reverse mortgage, the required counseling session is a good one to attend together.

How we put this guide together

Every source below was read on October 6, 2026. The general rules come from federal agencies and from Fannie Mae, and the company figures come from each company’s own website. We did not score or rank the companies on this page. Each one is here because a published fact fits the reader described next to it.