If you’re a retired homeowner, there’s a good chance that your property is worth far more than you paid for it — and that equity could be a lifeline.

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Back in 1995, the typical home cost $114,600. Today’s median sale price is nearly $400,000, according to the National Association of Realtors.

A home equity line of credit (HELOC) is one way to take some of that value and turn it into cash.

But is a HELOC the right solution during retirement? Let’s look at a few scenarios.

Scenario 1: You’re worried about the economy

Recent headlines have given retirees plenty of fuel for doomsday-level fears about their financial future. From concerns about the stability of the Social Security Administration to questions about the ripple effect of tariffs and global market volatility on 401(k)s, it’s understandable to look for ways to buffer your finances.

A HELOC can seem like an appealing backup plan to access cash without tapping retirement accounts during a downturn. Theoretically, it could buy you an additional 10 years to wait out the economic rollercoaster until you’re in a better position to pay your principal balance. But this strategy comes with substantial risk.

“Taking on debt in retirement requires careful consideration of expected income and expenses,” says Lori Trawinski, PhD, CFP and senior director at the AARP Public Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.

“Older borrowers may face increasing health costs, death of a spouse, or other situations that reduce available funds for debt payments.”

Using a HELOC as a hedge against a market slump also assumes that the economy won’t get worse. If it does, you could still be in a shaky financial position — only now your home is on the line.

“A HELOC might look like an easy way to avoid triggering certain tax thresholds or tapping into retirement accounts. But in practice, it can add complexity and stress,” says Jordan Leaman, CFP and branch operations manager at Churchill Mortgage in Wyoming, MI.

“Ideally, retirees should have a well-thought-out income plan in place, with a diversified portfolio that can weather market downturns without the need for additional debt. Planning ahead with liquid assets and a solid strategy for cash flow is key.”

Scenario 2: You want “fun money” in your golden years

After years of responsibly paying your mortgage, you may wonder if pulling cash out of your home equity could help you enjoy a higher quality of life. After all, who wouldn’t love to spoil their grandchildren or splurge on a memorable vacation?

However, even if a HELOC initially seems like an affordable way to access extra cash, it’s not worth risking your home. In an uncertain economic climate, this danger is even more pronounced.

“When interest rates rise and inflation increases, consumers may face difficulty making payments,” says AARP’s Trawinski. “Since most HELOCs have variable interest rates, they can be particularly risky in a rising interest rate environment since minimum payments will rise as a result.”

If you don’t read the fine print, a HELOC’s affordability can also be a bit deceiving.

During the HELOC’s 10-year draw period, borrowers are usually only required to pay interest. But once you enter the repayment period (which usually lasts 20 years), you’ll pay interest and principal.

“What seemed like an affordable loan can quickly become a lot more expensive, adding unnecessary strain,” says Leaman.

If you can’t pay, you could lose your home.

Scenario 3: You’re paying for home improvement

A home improvement project can be one of the best reasons to get a HELOC.

Ideally, this project will add to the value of your home, such as financing a new roof or replacing old siding. That way, you’re reinvesting the cash back into your home equity. There’s also a potential tax benefit: HELOC interest may be tax-deductible if it’s used to “buy, build, or substantially improve the residence,” according to IRS guidelines.

Even if your project doesn’t directly raise the home’s value — say, you’re adding ramps or a stair lift for mobility — it might still be worth getting a HELOC if the changes can make your home more livable and allow you to age in place.

You’ll still have to be prepared if your HELOC’s variable interest rate rises, so your payments shouldn’t be at the top of your budget. As long as you can afford the potential larger payments, a HELOC can be a solid financing solution.

Scenario 4: You need help covering living expenses

This is a tough one. If you need a bridge to cover a temporary financial setback — like a medical bill — and you know there’s an end in sight, a HELOC might work for you. But if paying your bills is a consistent struggle, adding to your debt could make things worse in the long run.

In this case, you might consider a reverse mortgage. A home equity conversion mortgage, or HECM, is a reverse mortgage backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). It allows homeowners 62 and over to convert part of their home’s equity into cash without monthly loan payments. You receive funds based on the value of your home, which you can use toward your living expenses.

Keep in mind that the loan needs to be repaid when the home is sold or when the borrower dies, so unless your heirs can repay the HECM, they likely won’t be able to keep the house. But you are allowed to live there indefinitely, as long as you pay your property taxes.

The bottom line on HELOCs in retirement

HELOCs can be a great financial tool for the right reasons, in the right circumstances. Before signing on the dotted line, consider your finances and retirement goals and how a HELOC could help (or hinder) your ability to achieve them.

Taylor Getler writes for NerdWallet. Email: tgetler@nerdwallet.com.

The article You’re Retired and Need Cash— Is a HELOC the Answer? originally appeared on NerdWallet.

NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Jordan is joining NBC Sports as a special contributor to its NBA coverage when the 2025-26 season begins.

NBC made the announcement on Monday morning during its upfront presentation at Radio City Music Hall previewing the networks offerings during the upcoming television season.

“I am so excited to see the NBA back on NBC,” Jordan said during a video message. “The NBA on NBC was a meaningful part of my career, and I’m excited about being a special contributor to the project. I’m looking forward to seeing you all when the NBA on NBC launches this October.”

NBC returns to carrying the NBA after a 23-year absence. It had NBA rights from 1990 through 2002 and carried all six of Jordan’s championships as a member of the Chicago Bulls.

This is the first time Jordan has joined a network. His appearances and comments during the 2020 “The Last Dance” documentary about his career and the end of the Bulls dynasty in 1998 created plenty of headlines.

“Michael’s legacy both on and off the court speaks for itself,” NBC Sports President Rick Cordella said. “We’re incredibly proud to have him join our coverage.”

NBC’s 11-year agreement with the NBA and WNBA begins in October. Peacock will exclusively stream games on Monday night while NBC/Peacock will have regional doubleheaders on Tuesday. NBC and Peacock will also launch “Sunday Night Basketball” in January.

By MEG KINNARD

President Donald Trump ‘s readiness to accept a luxury jet as a gift from the ruling family of Qatar for conversion into a presidential aircraft has revived the conversations around emoluments and the notion of a president otherwise allegedly profiting off of the office.

“I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer,” he told reporters on Monday, after being asked if Qatar was getting anything in return for the plane. “I could be a stupid person and say, ‘no, we don’t want a free, very expensive airplane.’”

But there are constitutional prohibitions against the president receiving gifts from foreign entities or even domestic ones. It’s a conversation over emoluments, territory that Trump has been forced to navigate, and litigate, in the past.

What is an emolument?

Simply, an emolument is compensation for services, from employment or holding office, that can take the form of a salary, fee or profit.

What is the Emoluments Clause?

There are separate emoluments delineations in the U.S. Constitution. Both are aimed at preserving the independence of the president from influence from outside entities, including Congress, states and foreign governments.

Article I bars anyone holding government office from accepting any present, emolument, office or title from any “King, Prince, or foreign State,” without congressional consent.

Article II deals with domestic emoluments, noting that Congress can’t increase or decrease the president’s compensation during his term in office, and prohibits the president from receiving any emolument from the states.

Why is the Emoluments Clause coming up now?

Trump has reportedly been offered a Boeing 747-8 by Qatar in an arrangement that could be formalized as he travels to the Middle East this week. The Qatari government has said a final decision hasn’t been made. But Trump has defended the idea as a fiscally smart move for the country, even as critics argue it would amount to a president accepting an astonishingly valuable gift from a foreign government.

FILE – A 13-year-old private Boeing aircraft that President Donald Trump toured on Saturday to check out new hardware and technology features, and highlight the aircraft maker’s delay in delivering updated versions of the Air Force One presidential aircraft, takes off from Palm Beach International Airport, Feb. 16, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

“If we can get a 747 as a contribution to our Defense Department to use during a couple of years while they’re building the other ones, I think that was a very nice gesture,” Trump said Monday at the White House.

The luxury 747 — currently parked at Palm Beach International Airport, close to Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago resort — would be donated to a future presidential library. Trump has said that he wouldn’t use it for personal travel after leaving office, suggesting that it would be decommissioned like the Boeing 707 that Ronald Reagan flew on in the 1980s, and which is currently on display at Reagan’s presidential library in Simi Valley, California.

There are other Trump-related deals with Qatar. Last month, the Trump family company struck a deal to build a luxury golf resort there, in a sign it has no plans to hold back from foreign dealmaking during a second Trump administration.

The project, which features Trump-branded beachside villas and an 18-hole golf course to be built by a Saudi Arabian company, marked the first foreign deal by the Trump Organization since Trump resumed office.

Has Trump dealt with debate over emoluments before?

In his first term, Trump faced lawsuits from Maryland and the District of Columbia, as well as high-end restaurants and hotels in New York and Washington, D.C., that accused him of illegally profiting off the presidency through his luxury Washington hotel.

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In 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court brought an end to the cases, ruling them as moot since Trump was no longer president. The justices threw out Trump’s challenge to lower court rulings that had allowed lawsuits to go forward alleging that he violated the Constitution’s emoluments clause by accepting payments from foreign and domestic officials who stay at the Trump International Hotel and patronize other businesses owned by the former president and his family.

Has Congress weighed in on emoluments?

They’ve tried.

Last year, congressional Democrats introduced legislation that would prohibit U.S. officials from accepting money, payments or gifts from foreign governments without congressional consent. It was their response to a yearslong probe into Trump’s overseas business dealings.

The proposals led by Rep. Jamie Raskin and Sen. Richard Blumenthal would enforce the Constitution’s ban on emoluments, which prohibits the president from accepting foreign gifts and money without Congress’ permission. Democrats have argued that Trump ignored the clause as president.

Both bills did not advance.

Kinnard reported from Chapin, South Carolina, and can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP.

NEW DELHI (AP) — A deadly attack on tourists in the disputed Kashmir has plunged relations between India and Pakistan to new lows, with both sides hinting at imminent military action.

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India accuses Pakistan of backing the massacre, in which 26 men, mostly Indian Hindus, were killed, a charge Pakistan denies. Both countries have since expelled diplomats and citizens, ordered the border shut and closed their airspace for each other.

Soldiers on each side have exchanged fire along their de facto border, with each blaming the other for shooting first.

Here’s a look at multiple conflicts between the two countries since their bloody partition in 1947:

1947 — Months after British India is partitioned into a predominantly Hindu India and a Muslim-majority Pakistan, the two young nations fight their first war over control of Muslim-majority Kashmir, then a kingdom ruled by a Hindu monarch. The war killed thousands before ending in 1948.

1949 — A U.N.-brokered ceasefire line leaves Kashmir divided between India and Pakistan, with the promise of a U.N.-sponsored vote that would enable the region’s people to decide whether to be part Pakistan or India. That vote has never been held.

1965 — The rivals fight their second war over Kashmir. Thousands are killed in inconclusive fighting before a ceasefire is brokered by the Soviet Union and the United States. Negotiations in Tashkent run until January 1966, ending in both sides giving back territories they seized during the war and withdrawing their armies.

1971 — India intervenes in a war over the independence of East Pakistan, which ends with the territory breaking away as the new country of Bangladesh. An estimated 3 million people are killed in the conflict.

1972 — India and Pakistan sign a peace accord, renaming the ceasefire line in Kashmir as the Line of Control, a heavily fortified stretch of military outposts that divide the region between them. Both sides deploy more troops along the frontier, turning it into a heavily fortified stretch of military outposts.

1989 — Kashmiri dissidents, with support from Pakistan, launch a bloody rebellion against Indian rule. Indian troops respond with brutal measures, intensifying diplomatic and military skirmishes between New Delhi and Islamabad.

1999 — Pakistani soldiers and Kashmiri fighters seize several Himalayan peaks on the Indian side of the territory. India responds with aerial bombardments and artillery. At least 1,000 combatants are killed over 10 weeks and a worried world fears the fighting could escalate to nuclear conflict. The U.S. eventually steps in to mediate, ending the fighting.

2016 — Militants sneak into an army base in Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing at least 18 soldiers. India responds by sending special forces inside Pakistani-held territory, later claiming to have killed multiple suspected rebels in “surgical strikes.” Pakistan denies that the strikes take place, but it leads to days of major border skirmishes. Combatants and civilians on both sides are killed.

2019 — The two sides again come close to war after a Kashmiri insurgent rams an explosive-laden car into a bus carrying Indian soldiers, killing 40. India sends carries out air strikes in Pakistani territory, claiming to have struck a militant training facility. Pakistan later shoot down an Indian warplane and captures a pilot. He was later released, deescalating tensions.

2025 — Militants attack Indian tourists in region’s Pahalgam resort town and kill 26 men, most of them Hindus. India blames Pakistan for the attack, something Islamabad denies, and vows revenge on the attackers, sending tensions to their highest point since 2019. Both sides cancel visas of each other’s citizens, recall diplomats, shut their only land border crossing and close their airspace to each other. New Delhi also suspends a crucial water-sharing treaty with Islamabad.