Your children can be your plan for retirement

[Alexandoy]

My high school classmate said that his retirement plan is his children. When he retires his children will provide his needs. That was during the time that we were both 40 years old. I thought all the while that it was in jest. But when I reached retirement age I was surprised that my classmate had obliged his 3 children to pitch in for my classmate's personal budget. The monthly pension here is minimal so his children are giving him an allowance to augment his budget. However, there came a time that the spouse of his children complained about the allowance. My classmate was heartbroken when his allowance was stopped. That is proof that your children cannot be your retirement plan because they also have their own life to live. That is unfortunate for my classmate but a neat lesson to those who are nearing retirement. Save money for your old age and have a happy life in retirement.

 

[Caramelle]

Yes, this is one important lesson that new and older generations should keep in mind. Our children should not be thought of as a retirement plan. They may provide help in our old age but they also have their own lives to live and they will have the well-being and education of their children as their main priority. Our children have to pay forward, that is the cycle and reality of life. That is why we should strive to secure ourselves while we're still strong and able to work. We should learn to sacrifice certain luxuries and put the money into investments and savings that will generate funds for further investments. It also tells us to live moderately at whatever age and to take care of our health so we can look forward to a long and productive life.​

 

[Kingsley]

Everyone's retirement age and stage brings fear to the heart of somany mostly if you are working under an economic system that do not have much plans for their citizens or working class, and unfortunately some organizations do not have any pension scheme in place as they are not really design to cover a worker over a very long time. And in some countries mostly in Africa the government handles issues that bothers on pension with kids glove and they do not pay up the pensions of the pensioners as at when due. This brings alot of fear in the hearts of people because they will begin to wonder what the future really holds when they get old.

Hence most people believe that their pension will be gotten when they give birth to children and when their children has come of age then they will be able to take good care of them when they become old.

But this again is not always true because we have seen so many cases where this children grows old and still depend on their parents to take care of them. The children ends up struggling and many of them have got no job. But generally children turns out to be a good retirement plan.

 

[Rachael]

This is mostly the mentality of those in the under developed country although they are now breaking the bias. Depending on your children as a retirement plan is a deficit way of thinking which would offer no good. No doubt, the child is the father of the man but it is important that parents should not lay all their burden on the children because if things were that easy, they should have a means of survival after retirement. Putting all the hopes on the children has brought about serious family conflict when effective planning could have been engaged to avoid all of these.

The child would always take care of his or her parents according to his or her financial strength but it should not be under some sort of pressure. The state of the economy is very appalling and everyone is trying to survive, putting all the pressure on the children is not the ideal thing to be done and most parents who engage in this habit are those who do not even have any investment they willed to their children. The fact that you have children is not a valid excuse to make their lives burdensome. Remember, they too would have responsibilities to cater for.

 

[Shaf]

This is wrong thinking, that one's children are a retirement plan. Anyone who has children knows that no matter how old they grow, they still remain children to their parents. Some parents still spend on their grandchildren too in form of gifts.

These are individuals with different personalities and principles, who will have different challenges you cannot predict. What happens if they actually die at a young age before you do? What if their earnings are not much to cover their own expenses?

These days, everyone is struggling to be self sufficient no matter where they come from or where they are going. A good business idea would serve as a retirement plan better, especially if it can generate passive income which will suit your needs better at old age.

 

[Kendy]

This is not the ideal way to plan for retirement. Believe me, most parents that have this kind of mindset are not experienced and it is very wrong to put pressure on people just because they bear the mark as your children. There are many parents who are still engaging in this act and I have seen such situations.


There is a family relative who is a government worker and right now, he has less than 5years to be retired from civil service, bit he has no asset or worth for himself. Utimately, he has no responsibilities because all his children are grown, yet he squanders his money and goes abbeging and puts so much pressure on his children. I tend to wonder if this is the case when he is still working, what would happen when he is retired. The child would take care of his parents but it should not be burdensome because everyone has their diverse challenges and responsibilities. There is need to have an effective plan towards retirement whether you are self-employed or not. This mindset should be eroded completely by parents, in order to make the children's life at ease and also make the society a better place.