Money Fix: paying off the mortgage vs. saving for retirement

Boomers have their share of dilemmas, including whether to pay their mortgage off early or save that money for retirement.

While the first instinct may be to pay off the mortgage, it's not a slam dunk.

"It depends on how much money you have, what your monthly income is now and is likely to be in the future, and other factors," says Dan Smith, president of PrivatePlus mortgage in Atlanta.

Paying off the mortgage vastly reduces monthly expenses. Plus: "There is euphoria when people put their heads on their pillow knowing they are mortgage-free," says Jonathan Gassman, founder of The Gassman Group in Manhattan.

However, it could be better to pay off higher interest debt, like credit cards, points out Michael Fliegelman, a financial adviser with Strategic Wealth Advisors Network in Greenlawn.

Saving is ideal if you can get a higher rate of return on an investment versus the interest rate on your mortgage.

"The investment account produces income to live on in retirement," says Cal Brown, a certified financial planner with Savant Capital Management in McLean, Virginia.

A portfolio split 50-50 in stocks and bonds could return 7-8 percent over the long term. Putting that money to work creates more wealth, says Eric Meermann, a certified financial planner with Palisades Hudson Financial Group in Scarsdale.

The decision isn't merely about numbers. Says Clark Blackman, president of Alpha Wealth Strategies in Ringwood, Texas, "No amount of financial wisdom is going to help that retiree sleep better at night. In the final analysis, that might well be the most important thing."