I agree with all the above posts. Everyone is responsible for their own retirement, and we were told years ago Social Security does NOT provide for a full retirement. Many chose not to listen.
I will say this. If a person is struggling in their late 70s or 80s, I see no harm in it. They will have an easier life for whatever years they have left. In general, it is a bad deal. Why didn't everyone plan for retirement?
Well, SN, some people did plan for their retirement and lost their shirts when the stock market crashed in 2008. I know of several people who lost untold thousands and were wiped out.
Some people I know were single parents (women, who don't usually earn as much as men) and it was all they could do to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads and there was a deadbeat dad.
Some people I know have children who are well off and they do not need to leave their home to their children but their home still has a mortgage and is not near to being paid off.
Other people I know were married for many years and a divorce divided up the assets (community property) and there was not enough to stash away for a retirement income and not enough years to recoup.
Other people I know ended up having massive medical bills that wiped out all of their savings they were hoping to have for retirement. Someone else I know had to pay for years of nursing home care for an Alzheimer's disease spouse and that wiped out their retirement savings.
The point is, life is uncertain, and no matter how people plan or do not plan, stuff happens.
So, the question remains - is a reverse mortgage overall a good way to go, and has anybody here done one?