For example in 2010, when 24 million households headed by someone age 62 and older were homeowners only about 2 to 3% actually had a reverse mortgage (Bowen Bishop and Shan, 2008, see also CFPB, 2012). For low-income households with housing equity in the bottom 20% of the distribution, the annuity from a reverse mortgage would represent 11% of their income, while for those in the top 20% it would be 35%. Low-income households with average housing equity of around EUR 300 000 could draw an annuity from a reverse mortgage that would account for 24% of disposable income.