“At 3.2%, I would keep the mortgage and keep the cash liquid. Your advisor's 8% is an average, not a guarantee, and once you send that $22,000 to the bank you cannot easily get it back in retirement.”
“Pay off the mortgage. Your interest rate is low, so mathematically investing wins. But you're five years from retirement with $22K left, and the emotional weight of carrying debt into the finish line will cost you more than the 5% spread between 3.2% and 8%.”
“A 3.2% mortgage is a lock. You'll frustrate yourself chasing 8% in the market when you can lock in that certainty, especially five years out. The real cost matters more than the rate: at your tax bracket, that 3.2% is probably closer to 2.3% after the deduction.”
“I'd pay it to work. At 3.2%, your mortgage is cheap money—most assets beat that. Inflation wipes debt down for you, and the cash you're not paying toward the loan can buy an income-producing asset that covers your mortgage payments or goes higher. Five years is short, so your peace of mind matters, but peace of mind from one paid-off house costs you real leverage you won't get back.”
“The spread between your 3.2% mortgage and historical 8% returns is real money leaving the table every month you delay investing. I borrowed against my own paid-off house at 2%, invested it, and let the gap work for me—that's how disciplined investors actually build wealth. At five years to retirement, you need that compounding working overtime, not a payment gone from your life.”
“You've got a low-rate mortgage at 3.2% and cash sitting in a savings account earning next to nothing—that's not a dilemma, that's an opportunity most people miss. The real play here isn't about fear of debt at retirement; it's that your money is captured, doing nothing, when it could be working for you.”
“The math says invest it. If the market returns 8% and your mortgage costs 3.2% after taxes, that's 4.8% working for you annually on $22,000—roughly $1,000 a year extra in your pocket if you're right about the market and disciplined with it. But you'll hate the volatility five years from retirement, and that disgust is real data.”
“Pay off the mortgage. You've got five years until retirement and you're carrying this into the finish line—that's a known cost at a moment when you want predictability most. At 3.2%, the math says invest. But you're five years from the end, and that changes what the math is really measuring.”