Pay off mortage?

Hello doved4u and welcome! I'm no financial expert, but if I had a balloon mortgage, and had the resources to pay it off, that is what I would do. But that's just me. :)

Welcome..

I was thinking of refinancing at a somewhat lower rate of interest with a fixed rate.

Do you have enough equity to do so?

However, I have enough money saved in a tax-deferred annuity to pay off my mortgage right now. At present, my mortgage interest rate is twice the rate of return that I am getting in interest on the annuity. Your thoughts?

For me, being able to claim the interest on my taxes is a plus. I would really think about your income tax situation...would you owe if you didnt have the interest to write off each year? Not sure how long you've had the mortgage and what part of the country you are in....consider your local property values (in my area, we are #5 in the country for declining propert values/foreclosures.

Look at your long term goals.If you use those savings,you will have to replace them plus add to them before you retire from the workforce.