How My Parents are Preparing for Their Future*

In March, I turned 30. To my parents, this is me a fully fledged adult (not the fact I don’t live at home, manage my own finances and have a child) and they felt it was time for us to sit down and talk about the future. In particular, their future.

I’m blessed in that I don’t have elderly parents just yet but after a few health scares with my dad, they wanted to make sure I was prepared, that we were all prepared should anything happen. Not only that, but since my parents are still young and the average life expectancy is increasing each year, there is a chance, as their eldest their old age care will fall to me. I read an article about the “grey tsunami” that is upon us, where the over 65 population will increase by 111% over the next few decades. This is something worth thinking about now, not just by my parents who are in their late 50s, but by myself too.

In a discussion with my parents we were able to go through the important things to give them a secure future as they head towards retirement.

Go Through Their Retirement Plan

Although the retirement age is being constantly pushed up, as my parents head towards their 60s, they know it’s time to start thinking about it. My parents have lived a very full and comfortable life these last 10 years and they want to continue that in their retirement. Over the next few years they want to renovate the lounge and continue to have some holidays and enjoy their life, especially once they finish working.

Along with looking at how they can continue their lifestyle into retirement, we discussed where they want to live. As they own their own home they both wish to live there long as possible and they feel personally they’ll be able to cover this without putting any financial strain on my sister or I.

Ensure I’m Aware of all the Important Document

When my Grandfather passed a few years back, none of his children nor my Nanny knew where anything was. He had money, and assets hidden away and no one knew how to access them. He didn’t even list them all in his Will or let my Nanny know where all the paper documents were kept. It was a mess. It really gave my parents a kick up the butt to get everything sorted and now not only do my parents know where each others personal paperwork and insurances are kept, but there is a master list of passwords we have hidden that not only do they have access too, but myself and my sister. It’s not a pleasant thing to do, setting up life insurance and a Will, I know as I did it when I became a single parent as I wanted to know LM was well looked after. It’s not a nice discussion to have,  but it can save a lot of time and stress in the long run.

I’m so blessed that my parents made this conversation easy to have. Talking about these sort of things and the future with your parents can be hard but it can be comforting to know your parents want to ensure they don’t become a burden. I want my parents to live a long and happy retirement and I’m glad we have ways to make that happen that the whole family are in on!