A 2025 survey shows 29 per cent of Canadians nearing retirement will be making mortgage payments after they’ve stopped working.Graeme Roy/The Canadian Press
For a growing number of Canadians, homeownership has become a midlife milestone instead of a young adult rite of passage. But what happens when your mortgage payoff date is uncomfortably close to your retirement age or, even worse, after it?
According to a 2025 Royal LePage survey, 29 per cent of Canadians nearing retirement will be making mortgage payments after they’ve stopped working.
These unexpected costs could derail your plan to buy a home
“Some people will say it’s okay to have a mortgage in retirement. Well, not really,” says Kurt Rosentreter, a Toronto-based certified financial planner. In that case, at a time when your income drops off, a greater proportion of it would need to cover debt payments, he adds.
Here are five practical, expert-backed strategies to chart a more flexible retirement, even if you came late into your homeownership era.
1. Pay down your mortgage faster while you’re still working
One of the most straightforward solutions is to get aggressive with your debt before you retire.
Accelerating biweekly payments, such as paying half your monthly mortgage every two weeks instead of monthly, can reduce your amortization by a few years and save you thousands in interest, says Shannon Tatlock, a certified financial planner based in Moncton, N.B.
This strategy becomes more powerful if you direct windfalls like bonuses, tax refunds or side-hustle income toward your mortgage. “When you go to renew, hopefully the mortgage will be less, and your payment will come down,” Ms. Tatlock adds.
Mr. Rosentreter agrees and says it should be easier to do when you’re at your peak income levels in your 50s – and easier still if you have a partner who’s also employed.
But as Vancouver-based certified financial planner Steve Bridge points out, tough choices are inevitable, especially if you’re juggling kids’ education, car repairs, groceries, gifts and retirement savings.
What it comes down to is making more or spending less. “Get real about the numbers,” Mr. Bridge said.
2. Downsize? Preferably not
Downsizing is often viewed as a retirement fallback: sell the family home, buy something smaller, pocket the difference. The Royal LePage survey found that 46 per cent of Canadians nearing retirement plan to downsize within two years of leaving full-time work.
But it’s not always simple or profitable.
Planning to downsize means you’re counting on your home value going up – and that’s not guaranteed, says Mr. Rosentreter.
As an example, he says, let’s say you sell your $2-million home in Toronto and buy a condo for a million. That doesn’t leave much savings after commissions, the land transfer tax, legal fees and moving costs.
“Is that enough to make your retirement work? Doesn’t sound like a lot of money. The whole downsizing is a bit of a farce,” he says.
It’s also emotionally complicated. People often underestimate the psychological cost of moving out of a familiar space, letting go of a garden, a basement workshop.
Mr. Rosentreter says he rarely includes downsizing in his clients’ financial plans unless it’s post-widowhood, when needs and expenses truly change. “Otherwise, people use it as an excuse not to save,” he adds.
3. Relocate strategically, for space and savings
For those willing to downsize, relocating to a more-affordable region can free up cash.
“If you’re making $80,000 a year and trying to buy in Toronto, that’s not realistic,” Mr. Rosentreter says. “Move far away and get over the fact that you’re not going to live near [family].”
Relocating to a smaller town or even a different province can lower your cost of living, reduce your property taxes and lead to a lifestyle that’s more financially sustainable.
Of course, it’s not for everyone. The social cost of leaving behind family, friends or cultural communities needs to be factored in alongside the savings.
“That’s hard love, but it needs to be said,” said Mr. Rosentreter.
4. Consider multigenerational or shared living
One way to cut costs or create new income streams is by sharing your space.
That could mean living with friends, welcoming adult children back home to help with payments or renting out a basement suite.
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It may not be ideal if you value personal space, but it can be practical. Shared living lowers utility bills and your bottom line, with the bonus of also making you less isolated.
Mr. Bridge believes people need to make choices that prioritize saving. “Would I be willing to move somewhere else? Would I be willing to bring in more income? Could we bring a student in? Could we bring a renter in?”
5. Keep working
Many of Ms. Tatlock’s clients are transitioning into retirement with a job they enjoy – instead of one that they have to work to pay the bills. Some turn lifelong hobbies into small income streams. Others scale back from full-time jobs into flexible contract roles, consulting gigs or seasonal work.
She recalls one gentleman she worked with running a home garage doing tire changes after retiring from a demanding job as a mechanic for FedEx.
“He’s still earning money every single month. He’s just doing what he wants to,” Ms. Tatlock said.
Mr. Rosentreter says he still sees a cultural expectation among his clients to retire early and never work again.
“But then the financial reality, when they sit down with me, is that you’re dreaming,” he says. “You had kids later in life, you got this 30-year mortgage amortization, you’re not ready to retire at 55 to 60.”
He adds the caveat that this is all health permitting and not something you can count on.
The bottom line: “You’ve got to be realistic.”