Interest is accruing on the amount that is withdrawn. But instead of paying it on a monthly basis, it becomes part of the balance due when you leave the home. (Remember, the total of your withdrawals and interest can never exceed the value of the home when it is sold.) At that point, any remaining balance goes to you -- or your heirs. Or your heirs can choose to keep the house and take out a new mortgage to repay the reverse mortgage loan balance.

If you move out of your home for longer than one year, it can be sold, unless your spouse and co-owner is still living there. But if you just go to Florida for the winter, or spend time in a hospital, or have a short stay in a nursing home, you don't have to worry about your house being sold out from under you.

Fees on reverse mortgages can be substantial and mostly are determined by the FHA, but they are calculated into the amount you can receive in your monthly check or lump-sum withdrawal.

There are many accredited reverse-mortgage lenders, and you can search them out at www.reversemortgage.org or at www.financialfreedom.com, one of the largest national lenders that provided the numbers for this column. And it should be noted that those are approximate numbers, which could change along with the current level of interest rates.

If you or your parents were smart enough to pay off all or most of your mortgage, you can safely use your own home equity to help your retirement lifestyle through a reverse mortgage. And that's The Savage Truth.