With a few years left before I retire, is it a good strategy to put extra money into my super now to be used to pay off my mortgage when I retire?

Q.

I am 61 years old. My gross income is $3,213 a fortnight from which I salary sacrifice $1,700. I also receive $1,350 fortnightly from a transition to retirement pension. I have $128,000 still owing on my mortgage at 6.15% interest. At the moment I am making payments of $1,700 a fortnight to pay off this loan by the time I retire at age 65. I am considering converting to interest only repayments on my mortgage till I reach 65 and salary sacrificing the difference, about $1,350 a fortnight, until then. At 65 I should be able to make a tax-free withdrawal from my super to completely pay off my mortgage. What are the pros and cons of this plan?

This is an extremely good strategy and I can't see any disadvantages in it. Because you are 61 you can access your super tax free if you retire and salary sacrificed contributions will give you a substantial tax advantage as such contributions lose just 15% whereas money taken in your pay packet will lose at least 31.5%.