As you approach retirement age you may find you have some savings aside. You may wonder whether or not you should pay off your mortgage or instead carry your mortgage into retirement and invest the money in more high-yielding stock options.

There are pros and cons of both options and it is important that you analyse fully the possible outcomes before making any decisions. It is indeed true that investing can bring much greater financial gains and mortgage interest rates are actually quite low. Therefore investments seem like a more beneficial option in the long-term.

However, it is impossible to put a price on peace of mind and this is one thing you will have if you own your home outright. Very little beats having a roof over your head come what may.

The key advantage about paying off your mortgage versus using the money to invest is the 'what if' scenario. When markets fell dramatically across the globe in 2008, billions of pounds were literally wiped off the board. Whilst this is, of a course, a worst case scenario it is still a possibility. If you have chosen to invest in shares, rather than pay off your mortgage, you have to realise that if this happens again you could be facing a devastating and financially challenging retirement. You simply will not be able to recoup the losses as you are no longer economically active as you were in younger years. Not only will you have lost money you have saved but you will still also have a mortgage to repay.

Before making any decisions, it is always wise to seek independent financial advice. Retirement years should be enjoyed, not stressful.