The short version
- Outstanding reverse mortgage balances in Canada reached $10.9 billion by mid-2026, according to OSFI data cited by Canadian Mortgage Trends.
- Lenders on the panel said a HELOC tends to suit people with employment income, while a reverse mortgage is aimed at people who cannot easily carry payments.
- The balance on a reverse mortgage grows over time, and lenders said borrowers should see that projected before deciding.
- Tax and benefit effects were described by the lenders; check them with a tax adviser before relying on them.
What the panel was about
Reverse mortgages are still widely misunderstood. A recent panel of the four providers in Canada set out to fix that, with brokers as the audience.
On 22 October, Canadian Mortgage Trends reported on a virtual panel with representatives of Bloom Finance, EQ Bank, Home Equity Bank and Home Trust. The article says outstanding reverse mortgage balances reached $10.9 billion by mid-2026, per OSFI data. It was written for mortgage professionals, but several points apply directly to older homeowners weighing their options.
One panelist put the goal plainly: lenders are not competing with each other so much as “against the myths that exist in terms of what a reverse mortgage is.”
Why people look at them
According to the report, the most common reason is a cash-flow squeeze in retirement: a fixed income, mortgage payments that are hard to carry, sometimes a home that no longer supports its debt. A second reason the panel described is helping family, for example funding a child’s or grandchild’s down payment. One panelist noted that about a third of first-time buyers turn to family for that money.
Our own house rich, cash poor piece covers the same situation from the homeowner’s side.
HELOC versus reverse mortgage: where the lenders drew the line
The panel acknowledged that a HELOC typically costs less to borrow against than a reverse mortgage. The deciding factor, they said, is the borrower’s income and ability to make payments.
- A HELOC suits people with traditional, salaried income, according to EQ Bank’s Clifford Choy, because they can service the payments.
- On a fixed income, a HELOC’s payments may have to come from somewhere else, such as drawing down investments or selling the home, which can have tax consequences. This was Choy’s reasoning.
- A reverse mortgage has no obligation to make payments, said Home Equity Bank’s Suzanne Meleady, though borrowers may choose to pay the interest.
Choy also said that money borrowed this way is tax free and does not affect CPP or OAS. That is the lender’s description. Your own tax position is specific to you, and we do not give tax advice, so confirm it with a tax professional before you rely on it. Our HELOC minimum payments article explains why a line of credit can be slow to pay down.
The balance grows: ask to see it
The panel said the most common fears are that the lender will take the home or that little equity will be left for the next generation. Their answer was transparency. Bloom’s Andre Da Silva described using a calculator to show the expected balance after 10 years against a range of possible home values and sharing that document early with the client, family and advisors.
Home Trust’s Kyle Hall added that, after year five, a borrower can give written notice and have the three-month interest repayment penalty waived on his firm’s product, and that there is never a point where the borrower has “signed over” the house. Terms differ by lender, so confirm the details for the product you are offered.
If you take one thing from the panel, take this: do not decide on a reverse mortgage until you have seen a written projection of the balance in 5, 10 and 15 years, and have talked it through with the people you would want to inherit or advise you.
Questions to ask before you decide
- What is the total borrowing cost compared with a HELOC or a conventional mortgage for my situation?
- What will the balance be in 10 years under a few different home values?
- What are the repayment terms and penalties if I sell or move earlier than planned?
- Could I qualify for a lower-cost option if I had some employment or pension income to count?
- Who else should be in this conversation, for example a tax adviser, a lawyer or family?
The Reverse Mortgages page sets out how we approach it. Stephen is a Mortgage Broker who arranges the mortgage, not an investment or tax adviser, and the other pieces of the plan belong with the right professionals. We also looked at a newer option for ages 55 to 70 in what we know about the HomeEquity Bank hybrid.
Nearly thirty years in Canadian financial services, based in Waterloo Region and working across Ontario. Most people are handed a product — you deserve a plan.
Quotations and figures are from the Canadian Mortgage Trends report linked below and reflect the lenders’ own descriptions of their products, which vary by lender. We do not provide tax, legal or investment advice. Everything here is general information only, illustrative, and subject to full qualification, lender approval and final terms. Nothing here predicts what the Bank of Canada, any lender or any housing market will do.
Sources: Canadian Mortgage Trends — What reverse mortgage lenders want brokers to know