U.S. News & World Report - The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is developing a new reverse mortgage product that sharply cuts up-front payments by home owners but also significantly reduces the percentage of a home's equity that can be paid to owners under the program. Reverse mortgages insured by the government are available on homes where the youngest owner is at least 62 years old. The program is called a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM).