Lenders qualify you on income they can verify and document, so a coming raise and a planned retirement both get handled through the paperwork, and the details cut both ways. If a raise is coming, we can often use it once the timing lines up. When the increase is confirmed and takes effect before closing, most lenders want to see a pay stub at the new rate before the loan funds. That is typical underwriting practice rather than a hard agency rule, so a raise starting a week or two ahead of closing can still count. A few programs occasionally allow income that begins before your first payment is due, but most lenders stay cautious there, since until the raise shows up on a stub nothing proves the employer follows through. A planned income drop is more nuanced. Under federal fair-lending rules, a lender cannot hold your age against you or discount your income because of it. What underwriting does assess is whether your income is likely to continue, generally about three years out. If nothing in your file points to a change, you qualify on the income you have today. But if the documentation shows a scheduled retirement or a known reduction, the lender has to qualify you on the reduced figure. That is why plenty of people choose to buy or refinance while still working, locking in their qualification before the paycheck changes. If you are timing a move around a raise or a retirement, that sequencing is exactly what we map out in the free Roadmap conversation, about 20 minutes where we run your real numbers.