This will be a record-breaking year for retirement in the U.S., with an average of 11,000 Americans a day expected to celebrate their 65th birthday from now until December. So some of my clients are facing the idea that their parents are going to retire in 2024. This often leaves children wondering, "What's next?"

My conversations always start by finding out the details and specific circumstances. Are we talking about a voluntary, long-planned retirement? Or maybe it’s resulting from 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:downsizing, health issues, or because they need to be a full-time caregiver. These sit❀uations can carry a very different emotional weight and financial concerns.

Ideally, adult children would like to know whether the older generation will be OK financially. For some parents, their children are their retirement plans. Even if that’s not the case, the reality is that my clients may need to step in and help out at som𒐪e point. Either way, they should kno🐷w where their important records and documents are kept.

This can be 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:a tricky conversation. Many in the generation that is currently facing retirement are sensitive about discussing money. They may feel their kids are being nosy–or worse, greedy. I didn’t start insisting that I knew where my parents’ stuff was until they reached their 80s. A really helpful book I often recommend is "Mom and Dad We Need to Talk" by Cameron Huddleston.

What I'm Telling My Clients

One way I advise my clients to approach this conversation is to start by asking as though they wanꦕt to🦂 learn for their own planning. Some starter questions they can use include: 

• “Hey, when does one 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:start getting Social Security anyway?” Let the parent explain it.
• “Do you get any ongoing benefits from your job?” This could include a pension plan or (very rarely anymore) retiree medical insurance coverage.
• “When does Medicare kick in?” 
• “Did you ever buy long-term care insurance?” 

If their parent seems uncertain of the answers, offering to help do some research, sorting t🌊hrough papers, or interviewing local financial advisors can be a good place to start.

My clients definitely want to know that their parents’ estate planning documents are up to date, and where to find them. Ask who the older generation has named in key roles in case one day they can’t handle things themselves: 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:financial power of attorney, medical power of attorney, and trustee if applicable; and once they have passed, the executor. They should have someon💯e named in each of the🍬se capacities, along with backups just in case. 

If my clients have been named in one of these roles, they need the actual document to prove it if the time comes, and it’s good to discuss their parents’ wishes so that they're clear on how to carry them out.

The Bottom Line

More people are reaching retirement age than ever before. Now is the time for the younger generation to learn more about their parents’ plans for their later life, 🍸but that can mean navigating a tricky conversation. Hopefully, aging parents wi🍌ll have a long, healthy, and fulfilling retirement. And yet we all must face the realities that aging can bring. It’s much easier to start the conversation before a crisis hits.