After the financial crisis, retirees still struggle to find a reliable retirement income

Reverse mortgages require you to be at least 62 years old. They usually account for about half of the value of your home and must be the only mortgage on your principal residence.

For example, if a person only has $ 100,000 saved after trying to cover his or her children's tuition, but was able to pay back his or her $ 600,000 home, then that person can take advantage of that equity.

"Almost every financial adviser in the country has this client," Hopkins said.

The other alternative is to move from a $ 600,000 home to a $ 400,000 home, thereby releasing $ 200,000 of equity. Then, using a reverse mortgage to buy the new home of $ 400,000, you release $ 200,000 of additional equity.

And you get rid of the current monthly mortgage payment.

"This puts someone in a cash flow scenario a lot better than it was before," Hopkins said.

A potential disadvantage of a reverse mortgage is that your loan must be repaid when you die, which may limit your transmission to your heirs. They may need to sell the home to pay off the reverse mortgage if they do not have the funds to pay the loan balance.