Seems to me that entering retirement with a mortgage isn't very sensible. Somewhere in 30-40 years of working getting to a point of having no mortgage ought to be achievable. Since the mortgage is often the single largest bill per month, that would be the one to pay off to enable retirement. In retirement, you don't have a labor-based income and are trying to conserve what you have.

Yes, this would probably mean smaller properties for retirees and pre-retirees. Living within one's means is part of the concept.

Maybe the conventional behaviors aren't leading to optimum results?