Three-quarters of American homeowners expect to pay off their mortgages by the time they retire, according to a survey released today by America Saves and the American Savings Education Council. (Consumer Reports' parent organization, Consumers Union, is on the National Advisory Committee of that first group.)

While not the flashiest finding of the survey, which focused primarily on Americans' savings habits and the impact of the recession, the mortgage stat is a hopeful sign that a lot of us are at least thinking ahead. Unfortunately, it's down slightly from a similar survey last year (75 percent vs. last year's 78 percent).

As we've said here before, paying off your mortgage pre-retirement, if you possibly can, is generally a smart strategy, for reasons both financial and psychological.