Anyone out there providing financial assistance to aging parents?
DH and I are still 8+ years from FIRE, and concerned about how to plan for helping his parents if/when they need it. My in-laws are in their early 60's and have always had lower-paying jobs and lived just within their means. At most they will have pensions barely large enough to live on (although their house is paid off, at least). That we can tell, they have little to no emergency funds to work with for major expenses, and we have offered help on occasion with large bills (e.g., dental work not covered by insurance) which has been refused. They claim not to carry credit card debt, but DH isn't sure whether to believe them.
Fortunately, they currently have health care through work. My father-in-law is a longtime diabetic and has suffered enough complications at this point that he cannot live alone. As a result, my mother-in-law has major caregiving responsibilities in addition to her full-time work.
DH feels certain that they are headed for a financial disaster of some sort or another and that providing the assistance they'll need will greatly derail our plans for FIRE. How can we take this into account without being overly panicked?
DH and I are still 8+ years from FIRE, and concerned about how to plan for helping his parents if/when they need it. My in-laws are in their early 60's and have always had lower-paying jobs and lived just within their means. At most they will have pensions barely large enough to live on (although their house is paid off, at least). That we can tell, they have little to no emergency funds to work with for major expenses, and we have offered help on occasion with large bills (e.g., dental work not covered by insurance) which has been refused. They claim not to carry credit card debt, but DH isn't sure whether to believe them.
Fortunately, they currently have health care through work. My father-in-law is a longtime diabetic and has suffered enough complications at this point that he cannot live alone. As a result, my mother-in-law has major caregiving responsibilities in addition to her full-time work.
DH feels certain that they are headed for a financial disaster of some sort or another and that providing the assistance they'll need will greatly derail our plans for FIRE. How can we take this into account without being overly panicked?