Getting Your Parents Ready for Retirement
Ask anyone and they'll tell you: Filipinos are among some of the most family-oriented cultures in the world. Like many Asian cultures, familial bonds are strong and relationships with family members are tight-knit. This is especially true of the relationship between a child and their parent. As your parents get older, it's only natural that your roles begin to subtly shift. Rather than remaining in the role of a child, it's possible that your parents will begin to turn to you for your advice or opinions.
One of the topics that may come up as your parents get older is the topic of retirement. A study conducted by the Global Aging Institute and Pru Life UK found that 90% of Filipinos were worried about how to stretch their finances post-retirement. It also found that over three-fifths or 60% of Filipinos worked at least part-time to help supplement their income.
As your parents near retirement, it's possible that they've begun to look forward to taking some well-deserved vacation time. While traveling is always fun, it can unfortunately be a drain on finances as well. Luckily, the Philippine Star notes that Filipinos are among the most frugal travelers in the world, so it's still possible to save a little while jetsetting.
While exploring the far-off reaches of the world can be exciting, it's equally important to make sure that your health and finances are protected while you're on vacation. In case of emergencies, Paramount Direct's Premium HealthCare Plus Plan has coverage all over the Philippines and around the globe. This means that you can still enjoy the coverage of your hospitalization insurance anywhere in the world, including benefits such as the Daily Cash Benefit, Daily ICU Benefit, Surgical Cash Benefit, and Convalescence Benefit.
The best thing you can do for your parents as they start to enter their retirement years is to help them get ready for them. The Manila Times has a list of nine steps for planning a comfortable and happy retirement, which include determining what age you want to retire, what life you envision after retirement, assessing resources, and other things anyone close to the age of 50 should be aware of.
To help your parents avoid falling into that trap of not saving enough, it's important to make sure that they have enough personal savings set aside for their retirement. Most experts encourage you to set aside 10% of your annual income for retirement in your 20s and 30s, but for 40s and 50s that number can jump as high as 50%. That's why starting to save early is as important as ever. If your parents still haven't started, it's time to encourage them to do so as soon as possible. They also have the option of making investments in real estate, the stock market, or mutual funds, in order to earn some extra income as retirement looms closer.