<prompt> Human: My parents are immigrants to the United States. Both have had difficulties with jobs given their lack of higher education and technical skills. My dad also suffered from a debilitating illness ten years ago and has not worked since. My mom supported a whole family of five on less than 30,000year a mix of charity and government assistance. Growing up, my siblings and I were all on the Federal free and reduced priced meals program. My sister 22 and I 26 both put ourselves through college and never ask our parents for any monetary help. My brother 14 will very likely need to do the same. I know that I will need to care for our parents monetarily once my mom can no longer work. I also hope that my siblings, of course, will be on board as well, to help as much as they are able. My question is, how can I begin preparing for this, now? And, what are my options when it comes to supporting them? I ask because I want to know what Ill have to consider in my 30s. As a planner, knowing whats coming up will help me make good decisions now. Details That Might be Helpful:- My parents have been living in the same house for 20 years. Its a 30 year mortgage so its possible that itll be completely paid off by the time my mom needs to retire. - My parents have no retirement savings. There was never money to spare.- My parents insurance, I believe, comes through Medicaid but Im not sure. - I hope to have children in my 30s, so that will be a financial consideration as well. EditThank you so much for all your comments! It is proving to be SUPER helpful. Ive added additional details and a note to answer some general trends.Additional Details:- My parents are both US citizens. Both took care of taxes as long as they were working, so I think they should be eligible for SS but will double-check. - I am absolutely taking care of my own retirement and financial house. My goal is to be financially independent my whole life. I think of it as my greatest gift to myself.- I will definitely talk about this with any potential SO. I know that financial disagreements and the related stress are the biggest reasons for marriages breaking up, so I believe that financial compatibility is hugely important. We can never anticipate everything that life will throw at us, but I think that if my SOs values and priorities are aligned with my own, then we can weather any storm. I value maximizing positive relationships and financial freedom over possessions, even if it means living more modestly, so I would my hope SO is the same.- My parents are probably debt-free with the exception of the mortgage. While I need to double-check, my mom is the one who taught me to never carry a balance on a credit card, so I dont see her ever taking on debt in other ways. My sister and I are debt-free as well.- We live across the country from one another. Since the industry Im in is strongest in my city and my parents social support structure is in their city, I doubt my parents and I will be moving to the same place any time soon. This does not negate the possibility of my parents moving close to one of the siblings, but it is probably too early for my sister to think about this, yet. I want her to have a similar amount of time that I had to establish her career before she needs to take our parents into consideration. - I dont think either my sister or I want the house since our current careers put us in larger cities, but my brother may? Hes so young that anything can change for him.Finally, to the thankfully few people who said that this is not my concern:I could not be where I am today, with a great education and a great career, without my parents, and I know that both my parents made the choice to immigrate because they wanted a better life for themselves and their families. As a result, while its probably going to be tough to support them later, I am more than happy to make that choice. I also know how to set boundaries so Im not worried that Ill be taken advantage of. Its more that Ill need to be extra diligent never to let lifestyle inflation get to me and to do my best to make sure my earning potential gets to a level that can support two generations of family members within five years. My sister is probably of the same mind, so Ill be sure to chat with her, while my brother is way to young to think about this. We are family, family thats always helped each other out, and this is what families that help each other do.  <response>: You need to find out how much they are receiving or will be receiving in social security payments. You dont say how they immigrated or whether you were born here so I cant tell how long theyve been paying into the system but if your dad paid enough into the system hed likely be eligible for social security disability, perhaps hes already collecting. If not he may be eligible to start regular SS payments in a few years, again depending on what hes paid into the system. The longer they wait to start collecting the greater the payments will be. If they are used to living on the low income you specify SS payments could replace a large part of that income particularly if the mortgage is paid off. Definitely check on moms insurance I dont think shed be eligible for Medicaid with that much income. Although she and your brother would likely receive a large subsidy through the insurance exchanges.Keep in mind home ownership comes with more responsibilities than just paying a mortgage. As they get older it will be harder for them to perform necessary maintenance. Ive been trying for years to get my dad to downsize because he does a poor job maintaining his place. 