Historically, the big hope was to retire debt free. However, experts who recently talked to Kiplinger’s Retirement Report say this may be a big mistake. Homeowners age 62 and older have a record $6.5 trillion of “tappable†equity, according to Data analytics firm Black Knight. Many financial planners believe that tapping wealth just before retirement makes sense if it is done for the right reasons. Suggested uses include paying off credit card debt, doing a remodel to make your house more senior friendly, buying long-term care insurance and pay the tax bill on a Roth conversion. In addition, you can use the funds to avoid taking early retirement from Social Security.