9 Questions to Ask Your Parents to Help Plan Their Retirement

9 Questions to Ask Your Parents to Help Plan Their Retirement - MalaysiaCaregiving Support

9 Questions to Ask Your Parents to Help Plan Their Retirement

Retirement could be a sensitive topic to talk about with your parents but they could use your help to manage their finances and health as they age. Here are 9 questions to ask to kickstart your conversation.

Retirement is a process in which a person leaves a job and ceases to work. This is a permanent decision to leave the workforce. Otherwise, some people may opt to reduce work hours. This is often the case when one is of elderly age or has become incapable of doing work due to health reasons. In this article, we will focus on retirement planning for your parents. While it can be a sensitive topic, these questions can be asked in order to gauge their readiness and needs.

Average Retirement Age in Malaysia

The retirement age in Malaysia is 60 years old, as regulated by the Minimum Retirement Age Act 2012. However, this is not applicable in some circumstances, such as:

  • People who are on probation
  • People who have been employed under apprenticeship contracts
  • Foreigners or non-citizen employees
  • Domestic servants
  • People whose work does not exceed 70% of the normal hours of work of a full-time employee
  • An employee who wishes to retire voluntarily

Notably, employers cannot retire their employees before they arrive at the minimum age of retirement. An employee that has been prematurely retired can voice their grievances to the labour department:

  • The employee may be reinstated to his or her former employment
  • The employer is to pay compensation
  • Of which there can be an appeal to the High Court

How Does Retirement Work in Malaysia?

Employers are able to approach employees regarding retirement. Otherwise, as mentioned in the previous segment, the employee can volunteer to retire. Nonetheless, as retirement is the season in which one ceases to work, it is important for the individual to have enough savings.

In Malaysia, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is a government agency that handles retirement planning for private and non-pensionable public sector employees. It is intended for employees to have a portion of their salary to be saved into a lifetime banking scheme. This amount can only be withdrawn after you reach retirement age or have been unemployed over a period of time.

Nonetheless, due to the rising cost of living and economic inflation, the EPF team had previously warned Malaysians thata minimum of RM 600,000.00 would be required to live comfortably in major cities after retirement. Even then, the figure an individual needs will depend on their spending habits or desires.

Questions to Ask Your Parents Regarding Retirement Planning

It is time to work through questions that you can ask your parents regarding retirement planning with empathy, respect, and an open mind. There are a few aspects to tackle, be it from the timeline, lifestyle expectations, health needs, and more.

Question #1: When are you planning to retire?

While the retirement age in Malaysia is 60 years old, you can still ask this question. This is due to other factors, such as their intention to work or pursue their hobbies. Knowing when they plan to retire, be it at 60 years old, earlier, or later, can help with financial planning. This will assist in budgeting the amount needed to live sufficiently despite stopping work.

Question #2: What are your lifestyle expectations?

Each person has their own definition of a quality life after retirement. It is vital to understand what your parents need or prefer in order to make prior arrangements. For instance, are they keen to travel often? Or would they be content being at home with family and friends, indulging in indoor hobbies? In fact, you may find that they may have an interest in trying new things that they did not have the chance to try before.

These are some questions to ask:

  • What are your expectations for leisure?
  • Do you have any hobbies or interests you wish to try?
  • Would you like to retire locally or overseas?

By asking these questions, can help to build a framework of money required to fulfil these expectations.

Question #3: What is your current financial standing?

Money matters can be sensitive to talk about. However, try your best to gauge their financial position as this will affect their lives after retirement. This question can tie into the previous one regarding lifestyle expectations. This will help both parties if they have sufficient funds for their needs.

Financial health is referred to as the state of a person’s monetary position. This covers savings, retirement funds, and spending habits. Stability is ideal as this will help to create a framework for your budget and build an emergency fund if needed.

Question #4: Are there any outstanding debts?

Throughout life, there are various repayments made, ranging from education, vehicles, or homes. It is necessary to find out what are the remaining debts and aim to pay them off. This would mean having to pay more than the minimum due each month.

Usually, there are two methods for overcoming debt.

  • Debt Avalanche– This method focuses on making minimum payments on all outstanding debts. However, if there are any remaining funds that can be used to do the additional payment, this would be utilised on the bill with the highest interest rate. Then, you would have savings in interest payments. This can save you money in interest and reduce the time taken to finish paying the debt.
  • Debt Snowball– This method looks at eliminating the smallest debts first. Thus, there will be an intention to pay the minimum on all outstanding debts, but place extra monies to pay off the smallest fee. Then, the next smallest debt will be targeted. This can help to build motivation as the number of payments appears to be decreasing.

These payment methods can work for personal and student loans. It can also apply to medical bills or credit card balances. However, this is not advisable for mortgage repayments. You may also experience difficulty in executing these methods if there is an emergency or significant changes in daily living expenses.

In other circumstances, if the debt is too large, there may be a need to consider debt relief. Debt settlement fees will apply and you would have a poorer credit score. However, it may be worth the stress relief at your parents’ age, especially toward retirement.

Question #5: “Mom/Dad, I care about you, and I want to make sure you’re doing okay. Can we talk about your health?

It is common for health conditions to worsen or appear as one age. A parent may have a hereditary disease due to genetics or lifestyle influences. Not only that, a person’s health status may be kept as hushed information. Nonetheless, at this point in life, try to find out if there are any health needs, such as regular visits to the doctor for physiotherapy, pills, or other forms of treatment.

These are some chronic diseases that can happen to people in their old age:

  • Arthritis
  • Heart diseases(due to high blood pressure, high cholesterol)
  • Respiratory diseases
  • Alzheimer’s disease(cognitive impairment can affect their safety and cost of care)
  • Osteoporosis(low bone mass, risk of fracture or breaks in the bone)
  • Diabetes
  • Obesity
  • Depression

Question #6: Do you have any insurance coverage?

Having an insurance plan can help you and your parents from experiencing financial heartache. This is because insurance can act as a guarantee to take care of expenses during unforeseen circumstances. An insurance plan for your parents should at least cover:

  • Hospitalisation admission fees
  • Medical treatments and services
  • Pre and post-treatment needs
  • Reimbursement of medical report fees
  • Ambulance fees if required

Some insurance providers may have additional benefits, such as discounts and nursing care. These may be favourable, depending on your parents’ needs. Having both critical illness coverage and a medical card will help to provide a complete set of medical protection.

If your parents do not have an insurance package, these aresome insurance packages that can be considered. Otherwise, they can serve as a guideline on what is a good insurance package for your ageing parents:

  • Maybank Senior PA
  • Etiqa OneMedical
  • PRUSenior Med
  • MSIG FlexiHealth
  • Zurich MedicaGen 200
  • AIA A-Life Med Regular
  • Manulife’s Health Saver Benefit
  • Allianz HealthInsured
  • Great Eastern SmartMedic Shield

Question #7: Would you like to consider a Power of Attorney (POA)?

This is a special document that allows a person to act with authority on behalf of another person. With this, you can engage an agent to act in your parents’ name for private or business matters.

This document can be used for various purposes:

  • To conclude contracts with a client, especially when the company is unable to do so in person.
  • To handle real estate or financial planning, especially when the grantor does not have the mental capacity to handle matters.
  • To have someone to decide regarding one’s health when he or she no longer has the mental capacity to do so.
  • POA can alo be used in other matters. It is best to consult a lawyer to draft the letter for its intended use.

In other cases,a will may suffice. This is a legal bound document that declares your parents’ intentions regarding the distribution of assets, wealth and other means after death.

Question #8: What kind of care options would you prefer?

While it might be assumed that the children should take care of the parents after retirement, there are care options available to assist with the transition. For this, it is important to hear about your parents’ care preferences.

For instance, these are some of the options that they could choose from:

  • Companion Careat home. Certified caregivers are scheduled to come in to accompany and assist your senior loved ones in their mobility and personal hygiene care.
  • Nursing Careright at your doorstep. Qualified and private nurses can be hired to conduct nursing procedures like wound dressing, tube feeding, stoma bag changing, and etc. This can save you time on travelling and appointment queues at the hospitals.
  • Nursing Home, where the elderly can stay if they cannot be cared for at home. Here, they engage in medical needs and daily activities.
  • Adult Day Care, which is meant for seniors to socialise with others. They are able to receive health checks and enjoy social activities.

With this, you would be able to plan according to their needs, as some options may cost more than others. Find out more aboutelderly care options in Malaysiato ensure it’s the best fit for your senior loved ones.

Question #9: Is there anything you need my help with to support your retirement?

Sometimes the help that your parents need is simpler than you thought. It could be that they want your help to purchase something for a new hobby, or additional research on a curious venture. Not only that but perhaps they wish to have your confidence and trust with regard to their future plans after retirement. With this question, you can show that you care to understand their basic needs and desires.

Consideringhome carefor your parents after their retirement?

Reach out to us by filling in the form below and our penasihat will assist you with the best care options!

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