Budgeting for elderly parent

stainluss

Long story short, I'm a 35yo in an only-child-lone-parent situation and my mam is getting old. My mam gets state pension and live in council housing. I'm in a well paid job and wanted to start my own gig but wanted to plan this out first, as things would be slack for a while.

I'm not asking for financial advice, but it would be great to hear from people as to what costs should I prepare for so that she has comfortable retirement as she gets less capable? She's nearly 70 now and healthy thankfully. And if there's any tips on routes toward mitigating costs (eg insurance/assurance etc) that would be great. I'm utterly clueless.

Thanks :)

Mrs OBumble

Keep your affairs and hers as separate as possible. If she eventually needs care, the Fair Deal application needs to be based on her assets and income only. Do not let the public health system off the hook in paying gif her care.

Pretty much as above. If you want to fund it out of your own pocket it will cost an absolute fortune. If she had a house then part of that would be used. Since the state will be funding it make sure you look after yourself and leave them to the funding side.

Jim2007

https://boards.ie/discussion/comment/117638230#Comment_117638230

https://boards.ie/discussion/comment/117638266#Comment_117638266

Hmmm do you realize that there are an array of things one might want to do for ones parents in old age beyond what might be covered by the state?

https://boards.ie/discussion/comment/117639623#Comment_117639623

If there's any financial element (and there is per the OP) then it's the single most important thing to bear in mind.

Jim2007

https://boards.ie/discussion/2058199768/budgeting-for-elderly-parent

Well Ireland at least the state benefits are pretty good for the elderly so you can be satisfied that the basics will be covered by the state where necessary - healthcare, accommodation etc… So while it might not be what you wanted for your parent it will be acceptable if you find your new business adventure does not pan out and you can’t support her as you’d like to.

if it were be I’d definitely stack away say 10k to be able to take her out for little treats, the odd weekend away, the few presents etc… more important though is to budget time to spend with her, starting a new business is stressful and time consuming and it’s very easy to loose out on the final few years of her life.

I’m in my 60s and what I would not give for one last conversation with my parents.

Jim2007

https://boards.ie/discussion/comment/117639629#Comment_117639629

Well I guess different people have different priorities.

Mrs OBumble

https://boards.ie/discussion/comment/117639623#Comment_117639623

I'm well aware of that.

Equally, if the state gets a whiff that you can provide for the parent's care, they will make it your responsibility to do so. And that can become eye-wateringly expensive if the parent happens to need hospital-level care for an extended time (eg becomes very disabled from a stroke). If there are multiple well-paid siblings to split the cost, this can be possible. If there aren't, it's financially crippling.

In this case, the parent is still living in council housing. That suggests to me we're not talking about a wealthy family - if they were, then they'd have either done tenant purchase, or simply purchased in a better neighbourhood. (Yeah, I'm making assumptions about council estates. And yes, some are lovely and full of sound people. Many ain't.)

It's simply not possible to insure against the costs of elder-care. So the thing the OP needs to do is mitigate risks, to ensure that the state will pay.

Thinking some more, OP - make sure your parent has Powers of Attorney set up, to cover the case that they become incapable to looking after their own affairs. It will take some legal advice / costs to do this - but it's far cheaper than having to go through the courts to get things done if there's no EPA in place.