Baby Boomers are “exhausted and emotionally frustrated with Wall Street.” As a result, “they are doing nothing and will not be able to retire,” Frank Troise from the company SoHo Asset Management told CNBC today.

Reverse mortgages have long been considered one of the most expensive ways to extract cash from your house. But that is changing as some of the country’s biggest reverse-mortgage lenders are slicing closing costs—helping even some affluent homeowners who want to generate additional income.

A reverse mortgage does not affect “non-means-tested” government benefits programs such as Social Security. However, a reverse mortgage can affect “means-tested” programs including Medicaid because those programs test to see how much financial resources a homeowner has available.

Generally a home equity loan, a second mortgage, or a home equity line of credit have strict requirements for income and creditworthiness. Also, with other traditional loans the homeowner must still make monthly payments to repay the loans. A reverse mortgage has no income or credit requirements and instead of making monthly payments, the homeowner receives payments.

AARP answers your questions:

The Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) is the only reverse mortgage insured by the federal government. HECM loans are insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which is part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

WASHINGTON — A study released by The National Council on the Aging (NCOA) shows that reverse mortgages can be used by over 13 million Americans to pay for long-term care expenses at home, allowing many to remain independent and in their homes longer.

Redefining yourself after retirement is not as difficult as you might imagine. By maintaining a youthful attitude, joining a cause, exploring your dreams, increasing your knowledge, considering your options, remaining active, staying connected, appreciating ourselves, changing your image and partially disengaging from work force, you can redefine yourself.

The National Retirement Risk Index (NRRI) showed that 51% of households are at risk of not being able to maintain their standard of living in retirement. According to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College report, the NRRI jumped from 7% from last year due to:

There is some intense debate relating to issues surrounding reverse mortgages for senior citizens. Many times postings will dissect the pitfalls of the method while never touching on the many benefits of reverse mortgages. This is completely unfair as there are many important benefits that cannot be neglected. Like any product or service out there, you should do your research thoroughly enough that you gain an understanding of both the pros and the cons. This will be a focus on the pros of this kind of mortgage.

Interest on a reverse mortgage is calculated based on the money paid out to you. In general, reverse mortgages have variable rates, though fixed rate reverse mortgages are becoming more popular. Variable rate reverse mortgages are based on certain indexes. Interest is not covered by the proceeds you get from a reverse mortgage – it builds up over the course of the entire loan until it’s repaid.