Money Magazine - How To Ensure Your Parents Have A Safety Net?

One of the biggest sacrifices you can make as a parent is to ensure that you make your child your first priority at all times. With the amount of different expenditures that come with having a child, insurance is one of the most important ones. Similarly, as an adult, it is important to think about your aging parents as well.

For many, retirement and pension funds are just not enough. As you get older, it can be harder to get good comprehensive medical and other insurances as well. So, a safety net for your parents is definitely something you need to take care of immediately.

While many companies offer you health insurance benefits that can extend to your family including your parents, it cannot also provide the amount of coverage you need. So, here are few ways in which you can provide a safety net for your parents.

Mutual Funds

Many parents’ still get pension and retirement funds which is their major form of income once they are retired. You can help your parents by investing a part of their pension in mutual funds every month. With a low interest rate and a stabilized insurance, your parents will always have a good amount of money in hand, if it is ever required. The mutual fund investments you choose need to be done carefully and with comparison in order to get the best kind of returns possible.

Top-up covers

This is extremely useful if you already have a medical scheme provided by your employers. Rather than buying an individual policy for your parents, buying a top-up and attaching it to the already existent scheme will definitely make it more affordable and your parents can enjoy a more secured form of health insurance.

While the drawback for this is minimal, it can still be a matter of concern. This policy will only last as long as you are working in the same company. If you are not planning on sticking to the company for too long then a individual policy is better.

Early coverage

When you are planning on getting insurance for your parents, the sooner you do it the better. If you get an insurance policy or top-up coverage before they turn sixty, you can get good premiums and sidestep few restrictions and conditions such as co-payment. It will be easier to pay it off, if you take it earlier as well.

Special policies

When your parents get older, their health will deteriorate, making it easier for them to develop diseases. Knowing few of the pre-existing diseases and conditions such as diabetes, asthma, heart disease and more, you can get special policies for the same and at a quicker rate as well! This is definitely a good policy to look out for.

Getting the right policy is not that hard once you really get into it. Before you take out an existing top up or a new individual policy check out how well you can accommodate it within your income and you’ll be able to chart it out easily and also get to provide a good safety net for your parents.