Hey, Members A Roundup of Issues and News for NRMLA Members By Darryl Hicks IN THIS ISSUE, we highlight important news from the first quarter of 2024, with links to more information. If you have questions about any of these topics, please feel free to contact me at dhicks@dworbell.com. • NRMLA, through its State and Local Issues Committee, sent a letter to New Jersey state Sen. Shirley K. Turner that addressed concerns over a bill she introduced (Senate Bill 2520) that would mandate in-person counseling and a seven-day “cooling off” period for reverse mortgages. (https://bit.ly/3sgHyYm) • NRMLA updated the HECM for Purchase Toolkits that members can share with real estate agents and homebuilders to include information on Interested Party Contributions and other changes published in the HECM section of Single-Family Handbook 4000.1. (https://bit.ly/3vL8TWG) • U.S. households increased their total debt by $271 billion during Q4 2023. As a result, households collectively owed $17.5 trillion to start 2024, according to Federal Reserve Bank of New York data analyzed by WalletHub. (https://bit.ly/3SCHVsk) • The Administration for Community Living published a final rule that makes the first substantive changes to Older Americans Act programs and services in 36 years. (https://bit.ly/4bGthZN) See related article Final Rule Updates Older Americans Act Regulations on page 30. • The Employee Benefit Research Institute estimates that couples with high Medicare prescription drug expenditures will need $413,000 to have a 90 percent chance of having enough money to cover future healthcare costs. (https://bit.ly/3UDdIvG) • If you enjoy keeping up with the latest policy discussions on retirement reform, the Brookings Institution held a symposium Jan. 24, 2024, that you can watch via YouTube. (https://bit.ly/3wbBEvU) • The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the U.S. population gained more than 1.6 million people in 2023, growing by 0.5 percent to 334,914,895. A majority of the population gains occurred in Southern states; the Northeast lost ground. (https://bit.ly/3StEfKh) • When compared with 47 countries, the U.S. retirement system ranked 22nd and received an overall C+ grade, according to the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index 2023. The U.S. scored 63 out of 100, down from this past year’s 63.9 and just squeaking in above the 62.9 average of all countries. (https://bit.ly/3HsMzno) • The Pew Charitable Trusts revealed that state-sponsored retirement savings programs have collectively reached over $1 billion in assets as of November 2023, giving more than 800,000 workers who didn’t have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan the option to save for their retirement. (https://bit.ly/3Sc1rvn) • The retirement planning landscape is getting a major face-lift in 2024 as provisions of 2022’s SECURE Act 2.0 kick in, bringing key changes intended to expand workers’ savings and incentivize employers to provide benefits. (https://bit.ly/3Sc7oIz) • A state-by-state analysis by GOBankingRates.com shows how long $1 million in retirement savings will last. A 65-year-old retiree in Hawaii can expect $1 million to last ten years, while that same amount will last almost 23 years in Mississippi. (https://bit.ly/48NhK9c) • To help address ongoing liquidity concerns, Ginnie Mae announced Jan. 16, 2024, that it’s exploring a new securitization option that would allow HECMs with balances above 98 percent of the Federal Housing Administration’s Maximum Claim Amount. (https://bit.ly/3ufEYFF) Darryl Hicks is NRMLA’s vice president of communications. 8 REVERSE MORTGAGE / MAY-JUNE 2024
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