The Quick Read: You can refinance a Colorado home in retirement without any paycheck by qualifying on your assets instead of employment income, either by showing eligible balances that cover the whole loan or by turning those balances into a monthly qualifying income, subject to underwriting through select programs. The loan is a consumer mortgage, so your assets are documented and the lender still reviews credit, the property, and leverage.
- Asset qualifier path: eligible assets must equal or exceed the entire loan, and no employment or income is documented.
- Asset depletion path: usable assets divided by 60 months become monthly qualifying income that runs through the debt-to-income test.
- One path at a time: a borrower is reviewed on one path, never a blend of the two.
- Statements matter: both paths require seasoned account statements, so do not move money around right before you apply.
- Rentals are different: a true rental property can qualify on its own rent through a DSCR loan, which is a separate business-purpose product.
Does Retirement Block a Refinance?
Retirement does not block a refinance. What changes is how the lender proves you can repay. Instead of pay stubs and W-2s, the file leans on what you own: brokerage accounts, savings, certificates of deposit, and retirement balances.
Across the wholesale network Lendmire works with, this is a familiar profile. The borrower has large balances and little documented income. That might be a retiree, someone who sold a business, an inheritance recipient, or an early-retired professional living off a portfolio. Conventional underwriting reads that person as income-light. Asset-based underwriting reads the same person as well-resourced.
Lenders cannot discount income just because it comes from a pension, annuity, or other retirement benefit. If you do have Social Security or pension income, it can still help your file. It simply is not required on the asset qualifier path. The programs below are available through select lenders and subject to underwriting. Every figure here is a ceiling or floor, never an offer.
Key Terms Defined
Asset qualifier path: a way to qualify where eligible assets, after the credit percentages, cover the entire loan amount and no income is documented.
Asset depletion path: a way to qualify where usable assets divided by 60 months become a monthly qualifying income.
Loan-to-value (LTV): the loan amount as a percentage of the home’s appraised value.
Debt-to-income (DTI): your monthly debts, including the new housing payment, compared with your monthly qualifying income.
Seasoning: the length of time money must sit in your account before a lender will count it.
Rate-and-term refinance: a refinance that changes the loan’s interest rate or term without pulling cash out.
Cash-out refinance: a refinance with a larger loan balance than the old one, so you receive the difference as cash.
Which Path Fits You?
Ask one question first: can your assets cover the whole loan, or do you want them to act as income?
If your eligible balances equal or exceed the loan, the asset qualifier path is usually the cleaner file. No employment or income is documented, and the lender’s repayment review rests on the assets. If your balances are large but fall short of the full loan amount, the asset depletion path turns them into monthly income. That income must then carry the housing payment and other debts.
The tradeoff is simple. The qualifier path asks for more assets relative to the loan. The depletion path asks for less, but it applies larger haircuts to some assets and adds a debt-to-income test.
The Asset Qualifier Path, Step by Step
On this path, you add up eligible balances after the credit percentages. The total must meet or exceed the entire loan amount. Accounts combine, so several accounts can work together toward the total.
Here is how the balance is counted on the qualifier path:
| Asset type | Share that counts |
|---|---|
| Brokerage accounts | 100% |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% |
| Money market | 100% |
| Savings | 100% |
| 401(k) and IRA, under age 59½ | 90% |
| 401(k) and IRA, age 59½ or older | 100% |
The other qualifier-path terms are these, all subject to underwriting:
- Leverage: up to 75% LTV on a refinance of a principal residence or second home. Whether cash-out proceeds are allowed on this path, and at what leverage, is set by the lender and is not published, so ask before you plan around it.
- Loan size: loans up to $4,000,000.
- Credit: a 600 minimum score, with housing history of 0x30x12. One 30-day late in the last twelve months is considered case by case. Multiple bankruptcies are not eligible.
- Seasoning: 60 days, with two months of statements for each qualifying account.
- Reserves: none required at or below 75% LTV. Above that, the lender sets them. Final terms depend on lender guidelines, property type, leverage, and the borrower’s complete credit picture.
“No income documented” does not mean “no documentation.” Your assets are documented in full, and the lender still pulls credit and reviews the property.
The Asset Depletion Path, Step by Step
Here, the lender applies haircuts to your balances. It divides the usable total by 60 months and uses the result as monthly income. That income then runs through the debt-to-income test with your new housing payment and other debts.
This is how balances are counted on the depletion path:
| Asset type | Share that counts |
|---|---|
| Cash accounts | 100% |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% |
| Securities | 80% |
| Private stock | 75% |
| Retirement accounts, any age | 70% |
| Real-estate equity | 60% |
Several assets are not eligible on the depletion path. These include custodial accounts, deferred compensation, escrow accounts, foreign funds, cash on hand, stock options, non-vested restricted stock units, and funds from non-regulated financial companies. Cash-out proceeds from the refinance itself never count as qualifying assets.
The other depletion-path terms, all subject to underwriting:
- Leverage on a principal residence or second home: up to 80% LTV on a rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out refinance.
- Leverage on an investment property: up to 65% LTV on a rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out refinance.
- Loan size: $125,000 to $3,500,000.
- Minimum assets: qualified assets of at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. When asset depletion is your only income source, you also need at least $250,000 liquid.
- Statements: statements at least 120 days old at application, plus the most recent statement within 45 days. Sale-of-business, inheritance, and legal-settlement funds are excused from that seasoning.
- Credit: the lender’s score and loan-amount matrix applies. A first-time investor on this path needs a 700 score. A housing event needs 4 years of seasoning. These specifics are subject to lender guidelines and a full review of property, leverage, and credit.
Asset-derived income can also supplement income you already document, such as a pension or Social Security, up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio. When it supplements, the minimum-assets rule is waived.
Two Worked Examples
Both examples are illustrative. The lender’s own calculation governs.
Qualifier path. Say you want an $800,000 refinance on a principal residence. You hold $330,000 in brokerage accounts, which count at 100%, or $330,000. You hold $300,000 in a 401(k) while under 59½, which counts at 90%, or $270,000. You hold $200,000 in savings at 100%, or $200,000. The usable total is $800,000, which equals the loan. The file is reviewed on assets alone, with no income documented. At age 59½ or older, the same 401(k) would count at 100%.
Depletion path. Now picture $1,500,000 in securities and $300,000 in cash. Securities count at 80%, or $1,200,000. Cash counts at 100%, or $300,000. Usable assets total $1,500,000. Divided by 60 months, that is $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. That income must then carry the housing payment and your other debts through the debt-to-income test.
Retirement balances behave differently on each path. They count at 90% or 100% on the qualifier path, depending on age. They count at 70% at any age on the depletion path. The same 401(k) can look stronger on one path than the other.
Which Refinance Fits Which Path?
Match your goal to the path before you start gathering statements.
| Your situation | Path to look at |
|---|---|
| Assets cover the full loan | Asset qualifier |
| Rate-and-term, assets short of loan | Asset depletion |
| Cash-out on a home you live in | Depletion, 60% LTV |
| Cash-out on a rental you own | Depletion at 60%, or DSCR |
| You also have pension or Social Security | Depletion as a supplement |
Cash-out on the depletion path is the tightest corner. Leverage drops to 60%, and the cash you receive cannot be counted toward your qualifying assets. If you are pulling cash out, plan the numbers so the file works without it.
On the qualifier path, a straight refinance is the clearest fit. Cash-out terms on that path are lender-specific and not published.
Where the General Rule Breaks
Your Colorado property is a true rental. A rental is a different loan. DSCR loans are designed for non-owner-occupied investment properties. Because they are business-purpose investor loans, they are reviewed differently from a standard owner-occupied mortgage. A DSCR file qualifies primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines, so your pension and Social Security are not the deciding factor. Credit and seasoned assets are still reviewed. Lendmire’s complete DSCR loans guide covers the mechanics. Lendmire’s walkthrough on whether a retiree with no W-2 income can get a DSCR loan covers the retiree angle.
A weak-rent property can fail even for a wealthy retiree. The property’s cash flow carries that file, not your net worth.
The home is yours to live in, or a second home. That is a consumer loan. DSCR is the wrong tool here, and the asset paths above are the right ones. Investment property can use the asset depletion path only, with the lower leverage listed earlier.
You hold crypto, precious metals, or collectibles. These are not published as eligible on either path. The documented route is converting them to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account, with the lender reviewing the source. Pledged or borrowed funds are not counted either.
Business accounts. A business account counts only to the extent of your ownership share, and it is not published as eligible on either path. Convert your share to a personal seasoned balance if you need it to count.
You retired recently. A last paycheck last month is not a problem on either asset path, because neither relies on employment. The statement seasoning is the real clock. On the qualifier path, balances need 60 days of seasoning. On the depletion path, statements must be 120 days old at application. Sale-of-business, inheritance, and legal-settlement funds are excused from that depletion-path seasoning.
Mixed income. If you have a pension or Social Security alongside a large portfolio, ask for the supplement structure. Documented income plus asset-derived income can work up to the 45% debt-to-income ceiling, and the minimum-assets rule is waived. If your spouse still works, Lendmire’s piece on whether a W-2 spouse can carry the mortgage covers that different route.
Why Lenders Still Review Your Ability to Repay
Because these are consumer mortgages, the lender must make a reasonable, good-faith determination that you can repay. The CFPB’s ability-to-repay rule says the lender considers current or reasonably expected income or assets. It excludes the value of the home securing the loan. The lender must also verify what it relies on with reasonably reliable third-party records. The CFPB’s small-entity compliance guide lists IRS tax transcripts and government benefit records as examples. It also notes that countable income includes interest, dividends, and government benefits.
For you, the practical meaning is this. Assets are a recognized way to show repayment ability, and a W-2 is not required. The lender cannot take your word for it, though. That is why seasoned, sourced statements are the backbone of the file.
Colorado Context
The program figures here do not change by state. Lendmire’s consumer mortgage lending is licensed in 16 states, Colorado among them, and the program is placed through select lenders in its network.
Colorado homes range widely. Many retirees hold a Front Range house, a mountain property, or both. Larger balances and second homes often make the asset paths more relevant, because those files tend to be asset-heavy and income-light. The loan-to-value caps depend on occupancy, not on Colorado. Property taxes, insurance, and local prices shape the housing payment, so treat them as inputs to the debt-to-income math on the depletion path.
Should You Refinance at All?
Refinancing is worth it only if the new loan solves a real problem. Ask these questions first:
- Are you resetting the term to lower the payment, and are you comfortable owing longer?
- Will you stay in the home long enough to recover the cost of the new loan?
- Do you need cash, or do you only want a different structure?
- Would selling or renting the property serve you better?
A reverse mortgage is a different product with its own age and counseling rules. Compare it separately rather than treating it as a refinance variation.
If you do take cash out, tax treatment can depend on how the funds are used and how the property is held; borrowers should keep clear records and speak with a qualified tax professional before relying on any deduction.
What to Gather Before You Apply
Pull these together before you talk to anyone:
- Two months of statements for every account you plan to use. Pull more if you are on the depletion path.
- A written source for any large deposit, such as a business sale, inheritance, or settlement.
- Proof of any pension, annuity, or Social Security you want counted as supplemental income.
- Your current mortgage statement and a 12-month housing payment history.
- A list of other debts.
- Entity or trust documents, if the property is not held in your own name.
Do not move large sums between accounts, open new credit, or cash out a retirement account just before you apply. Those moves reset seasoning and invite questions.
Declines are rarely about age. The usual causes are a score below the program’s floor, a recent late payment, statements that are too new, unexplained deposits, assets in ineligible categories, or a file that does not hold up once the haircuts are applied. Most of these are fixable with time or a different path.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use my IRA or 401(k) to qualify?
Yes, on both paths, at different percentages. The qualifier path counts retirement accounts at 90% under age 59½ and 100% at 59½ or older. The depletion path counts them at 70% at any age. Either way, you are not required to withdraw the money, and eligibility is subject to underwriting.
Can I do a cash-out refinance in retirement?
Sometimes, with tight leverage. On the depletion path, cash-out is up to 60% LTV on a principal residence, second home, or investment property, subject to underwriting. The proceeds cannot count toward your qualifying assets. Cash-out terms on the qualifier path are set by the lender and are not published. Terms depend on the lender’s guidelines, the property type, the leverage, and a full review of the credit profile.
Does my Social Security or pension help?
It can, but neither path requires it. On the qualifier path, no income is documented. On the depletion path, documented income can be supplemented with asset-derived income up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio, and the minimum-assets rule is waived when it does.
Will a lender turn me down for being retired?
Age alone is not the issue. Lenders cannot discount retirement income because of its source. The real questions are credit, seasoned and eligible assets, the property, and leverage. A file can still be declined on those, since programs are subject to lender guidelines and underwriting.
What if the property is a rental?
Then a DSCR loan may fit better than either asset path. It qualifies primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. Personal income is not the deciding factor, but credit and seasoned assets are still reviewed.
Next Step
If you are qualifying on assets rather than income and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare asset-based mortgage options based on your statements, the property, credit profile, leverage, and your goals. Colorado borrowers can start by listing which accounts they hold and which path their balances point toward.
Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage in Colorado page presents the program for Colorado borrowers.
About Lendmire
Lendmire is a mortgage brokerage (NMLS# 2371349) licensed for consumer mortgage lending in 16 states, arranging bank statement and other alternative-documentation mortgages — P&L-only, 1099-only and asset-based paths — through a wholesale lending network. Eligibility is determined by the lender on each file. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. CFPB – Ability-to-Repay Rule, Regulation Z §1026.43
2. CFPB – ATR/QM Small-Entity Compliance Guide
This article is part of Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: How an Asset Depletion Mortgage Works · How to Refinance a Jumbo Loan in Retirement on Assets · Asset Qualifier Mortgage vs Bank Statement Mortgage
Guides: Asset-Based Mortgage in Colorado
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Disclosure information. Lendmire is a state-licensed mortgage brokerage under NMLS# 2371349. Lendmire is not a depository institution, direct lender, or financial advisor — all loans referenced are placed through wholesale lender partners and are subject to each lender's underwriting standards. This article is provided for general informational purposes and is not a commitment to lend, nor does it constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. Loan programs, terms, rates, and qualification standards change without notice and depend on borrower profile, property type, and the state in which the subject property is located. Equal Housing Opportunity provider. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.