Talking about a reverse mortgage in Spain is treading on slippery ground. The concept of home ownership, the culture of keeping it until the end of our days and leaving it as an inheritance, is so ingrained that mentioning it is uncomfortable. Wouldn’t it be more reasonable to prioritize the current well-being of the owner than the future of the heirs? An analysis in Social Indicators Research, published by a group of researchers from the University of Barcelona, concludes that the reverse mortgage would reduce the poverty rate in Spain of those over 65 years of age who live alone in 65.8% of cases, placing it at 5.5% of the total. The study also indicates that it would contribute to mitigating the gender gap in poverty, taking it from 4.77 to 0.56 percentage points. Not all seniors or all properties meet the requirements to access this financial product and the study focuses only on the eligible group. Now, it provides clear evidence of its potential. The reverse mortgage would provide these households with an average additional income of around 3,300 euros per year (about 275 euros per month), which could be significantly higher in high-value properties. Official Social Security data place the average retirement pension in Spain at 1,509 euros per month and the compensation for widowhood at 936 euros per month. Given that the majority of women over 80 years of age receive this last benefit, their real monthly income is very far from the average of the system. Taking with reference the data from the Family Budget Survey prepared by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the average annual expenditure of a single person aged 65 or over is 18,987 euros (1,582 euros per month) and in cities where the cost of living is higher such as Madrid it is 23,411 euros (1,950 euros per month). It is clear that, if you live in a big city or receive a widow’s pension, making ends meet requires stretching every euro you receive to the limit. In Spain, 88.6% of people over 65 years of age own their home. Although not all of them are susceptible to benefiting from a reverse mortgage, it would be advisable for us to evaluate policies such as those existing in countries like the United Kingdom, with a public-private scheme, which allow more vulnerable social groups, especially older women who receive only the widow’s pension, to have this option. As a society, it would be advisable to consider whether we should bequeath heritage or a better country to future generations, leaving the home as an inheritance, not solves a structural problem. The reverse mortgage is not perfect, nor does it solve all problems, but it is an option. It is absurd that there are elderly people going through hardships while having a home. Adriana Scozzafava, general director of the Afi Emilio Ontiveros Foundation.