Home Mortgage Prepayment: The Better Roth IRA?

Workers often have a wide array of corporate- and noncorporate-sponsored plans that allow them to save for retirement on a tax-advantaged basis. The prepayment of a home mortgage, which is most similar in character to the Roth IRA, is usually not considered a tax-advantaged retirement savings option, perhaps because investors do not see or comprehend the future revenue or retirement resources (cash flows) prepayment creates. Our comparison between the prepayment of a home mortgage and contributing to a Roth IRA is strictly from a wealth maximization standpoint. Mortgage prepayment is found to be an effective and essentially equivalent alternative to a Roth IRA, especially for people no longer eligible for Roth contributions due to phase-out rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]