In many cultures and families, the answer is always YES. Your parents sacrificed and raised you to be an upstanding citizen (in most cases), and you may feel forever indebted to making sure they live a comfortable existence through their retirement, no matter what.
In countries such as Spain and China, adult children may be subject to fees and jail time if they neglect their elderly parents.
In the U.S., it’s still a choice, Parenting but there is still a strong expectation that adult children help out their aging parents.
Under what circumstances are you allowed to step back and question that expectation?
And to what extent can an adult child meddle in their parents’ finances and probe them about important decisions that may ultimately impact their own wallet?
If your parents are driving a better car than you are, ozonepurity you may feel more comfortable putting your foot down, without much guilt. My own parents raised their 3 daughters on a minimum wage salary, and still never took a penny from us for rent or food when we were twenty-somethings coming and going in between jobs and school to mooch off the little they had. Thanks to their careful budgeting and humble living, they are financially comfortable, and my sisters and I are ready to generously chip in what we can when necessary. But every family is different.
Some families don’t have siblings who chip in equally. In fact, minebook deadbeat siblings are the biggest source of anger among caregivers who use care management services. Strained relationship with parents also adds a layer of complexity.
What if you’re just barely making ends meet to feed your own family? What if your parents are in a serious crisis? Do you chip in then?
There is no simple answer.
Over the coming years, more of the sandwich generation will feel the financial squeeze of caring for aging parents. Sadly, more seniors are retiring with little resources and often rely exclusively on a meager Social Security Income (SSI) or the charity of children and others. For example, Cheap online products in Cameroon in December of 2013 close to 8.4 million individuals collected SSI income, and for close to three-fifths of those recipients (a bit over five million individuals), this was their only source of income.
Careless decisions about housing and lifestyles may too be partly to blame, when seniors are living beyond their means.
The growing number of seniors falling victim to financial fraud and abuse has only made matters worse, often at the hands of relatives or corrupt financial advisors. More on that in a moment.
This article explores some of these assumptions and offers readers a few recommendations for preparing your family for critical decisions, such as where parents will live, appropriate lifestyle choices, at what age they should retire, finding part-time work after retirement, how to intervene respectfully.
We’ll also help you identify a few red flags that point to aging parents facing financial troubles, or living beyond their means.
MISCALCULATING THE COST OF RETIREMENT
Everyone is entitled to live out their old age the way they choose. However, some adult children may take exception to that, especially when they are their parents’ back-up plan.
The reality is that most people underestimate the costs of that cozy retirement.
Research suggests that there is roughly a $250,000 gap between what people actually have saved and how much they need for retirement.
A rough guide for desired levels of retirement saving at different age groups are:
– 30 years of age: $56,000
– 40 years of age: $112,000
– 50 years of age: $180,000
Many people fall under these numbers, genee for a number of reasons.
For example, minorities who worked in low-wage positions without access to a pension plan retire with even fewer resources.
For women, the situation is worse. Well-intended choices to be a stay-at-home mom, or be a devoted caregiver to an aging or disabled relative unfortunately leaves them with fewer lifetime earnings and savings. Disparities in wages between men and women is well documented, and the fact that women will outlive most men suggests that they need a heftier nest egg.
At the same time, powdervitamin many people get caught up in the challenges of living day-to-day and week-to-week, and put off saving for retirement for far too long.
Understanding the costs of retirement are an important factor in planning, as are minimizing costs.
People are often surprised at just how many different ways they can cut costs and save money, money that can help to contribute to the challenges of retirement.
LIVING HUMBLY, DOWNSIZING SENIORS’ LIFE
The biggest mistake that your parents can make is trying to remain in the same two-story, four-bedroom house that they raised you and your siblings in, at whatever cost. Financial and practical reasons may require that your parents downsize. If you find yourself doing more back-breaking work trimming trees and bushes in mom and dad’s backyard or paying for gardening services, globalnews it’s time to rethink whether their home still offers the same perks it once used to.
Are you folks having more difficulty trekking up and down the stairs, or worse, experienced a recent fall? If so, it’s definitely time to heed the recommendation to downsize. Falls are the number one reason that seniors end up in nursing homes, as a result of sustained injuries and need for round-the-clock care.
