The Influence of Family Factors on Reverse Mortgage Adoption Intentions Among Malaysian Homeowners
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37253/combines.v6i1.12739Keywords:
Reverse mortgage, Financial sustainability, Bequest motive, Sense of home attachment, Gender of childrenAbstract
Malaysia is experiencing rapid population aging, creating increasing challenges for retirement financial sustainability. Although reverse mortgage provides an opportunity for homeowners to convert housing wealth into retirement income while remaining in their homes, its adoption in Malaysia remains low. Family-related considerations, including bequest motives, home attachment, and children’s gender, may influence homeowners’ decisions to adopt reverse mortgage, particularly within a cultural setting where family and inheritance expectations are important.
This study aims to examine the influence of bequest motive, sense of home attachment, and children’s gender on Malaysian homeowners’ intention to adopt reverse mortgage.
This study proposes a quantitative research design using primary data collected through a questionnaire distributed to Malaysian homeowners aged 55 to 65 years. Convenience and purposive sampling will be employed, with a target of 300 respondents. Bequest motive, sense of home attachment, and reverse mortgage adoption intention will be measured using Likert-scale items, while children’s gender will be operationalized as a dummy variable. Data will be analysed using descriptive statistics and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), with bootstrapping used to test the hypothesized relationships and evaluate model reliability, validity, and explanatory power.
Bequest motive is expected to have a negative relationship with reverse mortgage adoption intention, as homeowners with stronger inheritance motives may prefer to preserve their housing wealth for their children. Sense of home attachment is expected to have a positive relationship with adoption intention because reverse mortgage allows homeowners to access housing wealth while remaining in their homes. Homeowners with male children are expected to demonstrate lower adoption intention due to stronger inheritance expectations associated with sons.
This study is expected to contribute to the limited literature on family-related determinants of reverse mortgage adoption in Malaysia. The findings may assist policymakers and financial institutions in developing culturally appropriate retirement financing strategies and promoting more effective utilization of housing wealth to support retirement financial sustainability.
Downloads
References
Bhosle, Y. R., & Pednekar, A. P. (2025). The role of attitude in reverse mortgage loan adoption: A mediation effects on behavioral intention. Journal of Information Systems Engineering and Management, 10(24s). https://doi.org/10.52783/jisem.v10i24s.3987
Cagamas. (2026). 2025 annual report: Overview of Cagamas Holdings Berhad. https://ar2025.cagamas.com.my/files/Cagamas_ENG2025_Fullbook.pdf
Carballo, J. (2025, February 26). US$15 billion in inheritance left unclaimed in Malaysia and how taboo and ignorance are costing families their legacies. The Independent Singapore News. https://theindependent.sg/us15-billion-in-inheritance-left-unclaimed-in-malaysia-and-how-taboo-and-ignorance-are-costing-families-their-legacies/
Chang, Y.-C., Huang, S.-C., & Her, S.-L. (2025). Son preference: An empirical study of estate distribution in wills. Cornell International Law Journal, 57(2), 267–294. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4556264
Deutsch, M., & Gerard, H. B. (1955). A study of normative and informational social influences upon individual judgment. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 51(3), 629–636. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0046408
Fong, J. H., Mitchell, O. S., & Koh, B. S. K. (2023). Asset-rich and cash-poor: Which older adults value reverse mortgages? Ageing & Society, 43, 1104–1121. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X21001045
Inalhan, G., Yang, E., & Weber, C. (2021). Place attachment theory. In R. Appel-Meulenbroek & V. Danivska (Eds.), A handbook of theories on designing alignment between people and the office environment (1st ed., pp. 14–27). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003128830-16
Jomo, K. S. (2017, October 25). Most Malaysians cannot afford to retire. The Star. https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2017/10/25/most-malaysians-cannot-afford-to-retire/
Michel, P., Thibault, E., & Vidal, J.-P. (2004). Intergenerational altruism and neoclassical growth models (Working Paper Series No. 386). European Central Bank. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.576024
Mohammed, M. I., & Sulaiman, N. (2018a). Determinants of reverse mortgage usage in Malaysia. Real Estate Management and Valuation, 26(3), 5–23. https://doi.org/10.2478/remav-2018-0021
Mohammed, M. I., & Sulaiman, N. (2018b). Possibility of introducing reverse mortgage product in Malaysia: Insight from banking sector professionals. Qualitative Research in Financial Markets, 10(3), 265–284. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRFM-07-2017-0070
Moulton, S., Loibl, C., & Haurin, D. R. (2017). Reverse mortgage motivations and outcomes: Insights from survey data. Cityscape: A Journal of Policy Development and Research, 19(1), 73–98. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/periodicals/cityscpe/vol19num1/article4.html
Rabi, A., & Mansor, N. (2024). The sandwich generation: The case for a consumption-based contributory pension. Social Wellbeing Research Centre, Universiti Malaya. https://swrc.um.edu.my/Reports%20and%20Books/Sandwich%20generation.pdf
Shang, Z., Chi, B., & Liu, Z. (2023). Re-examination of son-preference based on attitude structure theory under the background of gender imbalance in China. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 1051638. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1051638
The Malaysian Reserve. (2025, July 21). Frozen inheritance assets in Malaysia surpass RM90b. https://themalaysianreserve.com/2025/07/21/frozen-inheritance-assets-in-malaysia-surpass-rm90b/
Wahab, S. (2025, April 8). Can we afford to retire? Urgent need for better financial planning. The Malaysian Reserve. https://themalaysianreserve.com/2025/04/08/can-we-afford-to-retire-urgent-need-for-better-financial-planning/
LOGIN
