<prompt> Human: hilong time lurker, first time poster. my mother is turning 60 and asked me about some financial advice. she has around 150k saved up in a savings account. parents own a house which is paid off worth about 300k and have some real estate in our home country not sure of the value but id guess its around 150-200k. as far as retirement savings I think 150k in the bank is all she has no 401k no IRA and she keeps asking me if getting a rental for some passive income is the best way to go about it. they live in high COL with high homecondo prices westchester county ny. im not sure if tying the money in real estate is the best idea or if the landlord thing is good for her. my question is what else could she do for the next 10 years or so to get the most out of it? would opening IRA and maxing it out be a good start? what other safe options are out there? any advice is appreciated. thanks EDITthanks guys. lots of info to process. the real estate is in Poland and it consists of a small co-op, about the same size retail store front, inherited house and some land. all is rented only but since its so far away she just charges enough to cover all the yearly upkeep since she doesnt want to to sit vacant and the people that us them take good care of it. also im just guesstimating the value of 150-200k. i should ask her if she ever had it all appraised.both parents still work and married although its complicated. her job pays 25-30k ill find out if theres any 401IRA plans and tell her to start maxing it out asap? and sometimes does cleaning on the side, father 61 is in construction, not a steady work by any means and wants to retire really soon no 401kIRA etc. hes never been a saver like my mother so i think the house and properties in Poland is all he has and perhaps 20k in the bank. my mother plans to work until she can. father on the other side is tired of it. I think their property taxes are 7k after the NY STAR discount id think average expense is 10k or so. if they ever want to downsize I have a 1b rental apt about 10 minutes from their house which Id let them have. TAXHOA is around 6Kyear but id def help them with some of it. Another option would be 1bed in 55 community 5 mins from them where average condo is 100k and yearly cost is probably 4-5K.They both will be drawing SS, father plans to retire soon but I dont think SS for both of them is enough to live off of. I think my father overestimates how much hell be getting in SS benefits, and on top of that he plans to do it early, which reduces big portion of it.so per your suggestion max out work retirement programs and rest in bondshigh yield savings. anything I can do for my father?Im sorry this is a little all over the place but im trying to cover everything and get as much info as I can. appreciate the suggestions so far!  <response>: An IRA is of minimal value in this situation, since shes already 60. You dont mention her income, but she is unlikely to have so much income that taxes are a big concern for her, and tax treatment is the big reason to have an IRA in the first place. She would also have to have earned income for an IRA. I dont know how she would finance an income property near where she lives based on what youve written, so that doesnt sound like a good way to go. What is up with the real estate in the home country? Thats a big asset; is it providing income? 