The age from 40 to 50 years is the most demanding phase in one’s life. People are usually at the peak of their responsibilities on the personal front, while on the professional side, the responsibilities increase with seniority and age. Understanding what Questions To Ask Your Family To Plan Your Retirement is very crucial.

As many people start thinking of retirement at this stage, it is advisable they think through the process in great detail or consult an advisor. However, involving family in the process can also make the planning a more collective endeavour and mitigate chances of unexpected emergencies.

Though it may be uncomfortable for some people to discuss money with family members, but it is very important in order to build a strong retirement corpus if they know what they can do about it.

Let’s understand the 5 Financial Questions To Ask Your Family To Plan Your Retirement.

From Spouse

1] Where Is Our Money Going? If you are not sure where your money goes every month and why the savings are not increasing, it is time to discuss it with your spouse and work to get the numbers. Discuss the matter openly and in detail. This is to know about the expenses and what can be done to save more or if earnings need to be increased.

At times, the planning is only in the mind which may give an impression that it is going good, the savings are growing and it will be enough in the long term. It is important to write it down on paper and find out the times, the occasions when spending was more than planned.

2] Are We On Track For Retirement Finances? Do not wait for the right time to discuss tracking your savings, expenses and investments. Start this discussion with your spouse and work together for your comfortable golden years.

If both of you are working, you both may revisit your individual retirement planning to know that it is in line with the family’s collective planning.

The idea is to track the savings, investments, inflation and the return to keep the savings and investment portfolio on track. Otherwise, you won’t be able to create a decent corpus just by saving and investing in fixed deposits.

From Children

1] How Do We Plan Paying College Fees? A recent study by BankBazaar in August 2023, titled ‘Inflation, Education and Your Child’, revealed that the education expenses can double every six to seven years and the expenses come only next to home ownership expenses in India.

Evidently, education for children can eat up a good part of your savings if you do not plan ahead. Considering education inflation, one may rather start saving for education from the time the child is born.

At the same time, it is true no one would want their children to take huge debts to fund their education. So, as a parent, you may plan for it together with your children. It does not mean to scare them, but to make them aware of your savings that you have kept for their education head, including the fees of different colleges, and the scholarships they can look for. You may start discussion with then saying, “Let’s plan together for your education expenses.”

From Parents

Though, parents may not like to discuss these details, find a suitable moment to start this conversation.

1] Do You Have Enough Funds To Run Through Your Retirement? Retirement planning is becoming more important with the passage of time because of longer life expectancy due to medical advancements and better standard of living. Thus, it becomes inevitable to know whether your parents have enough in savings or not for their lifetime.

This question will give you the idea about how much you need to have for your parents for their needs if they do not have enough.

2] Do You Have Sufficient Health Insurance? Besides this, also make sure that they have enough health cover because their health expenses may be high and could cost you a fortune. Taking health insurance at an early age and continuing with it is always a good idea.

However, if your parents do not have any health cover, you may explore getting them a suitable policy covering them for critical illness, pre-existing diseases, etc., and which could cover them for as long as possible.

While you talk to your family members, it would not only make you aware of where your family stands financially, but also about where you are financially. It will help in making a more holistic retirement plan with enough emergency funds to absorb shock.