<prompt> Human: Throwaway account because of the topic. My parents are 5250, and they have very few assets: Halfway through a mortgage on a 200k house Two old cars 10k in the bank 20k in retirement accounts Will inherit one 300k house 25k debt An aging grandparent and disabled younger sibling whose care they will both likely assume within the next 5 years.Their combined income is 100k but they are still supporting my younger siblings and relatives, so they are not able to save more than a few thousand per year. My fear is that they will not be able to retire, and I think there is a high likelihood that I will need to care for them at some point in the next 20 years. I have thought that if I contribute about 5k a year to a joint retirement account for them over the course of the next 20 years or so, that money will have grown to around 200-300k by retirement time, assuming a stable market with steady returns. That, combined with their inherited house, might be enough to provide them with 30k a year at a 5 return on the 500k per year. Is this plan safe? Is there a more effective way to plan for their retirement? This is very new to me.. I just graduated college and only realized how bad their situation was when I started thinking of my own retirement. I feel that if I dont start investing in their retirement now, they will have a very, very rough elderly life. Any advice?  <response>: I feel that if I dont start investing in their retirement now, they will have a very, very rough elderly life. Eh, they are not so old that they dont have time to get it together. They have a good 15-20 years before retirement so they can sock away quite a bit in that time. They make good money and just need to dig in and start saving aggressively. This is not your responsibility BUT if you do take it on, do not put the money into any account of theirs, because they can withdraw it any time. I feel that if I dont start investing in their retirement nowNo, youve got it wrong. You need to start saving and investing in YOUR retirement. I wish I had saved in my 20s and 30s...what you cant get back is time and compounded interest. Talk to your still relatively young parents about their future retirement plans and encourage them to start saving aggressively, investing wisely, and to make a plan for your disable sibling. If you are in the states your disabled sibling qualifies for financial support from the government, so your parents dont have to worry on that front. 