Bhai Dooj 2026: How Siblings Can Plan Their Parents' Retirement and Healthcare Costs

As parents grow older, their financial needs often change, with rising healthcare expenses, regular medication costs and the need for a stable retirement income becoming increasingly important. For siblings, sharing these responsibilities can make financial planning more manageable while ensuring that parents do not have to depend entirely on their children for every expense. A structured approach covering emergency savings, health insurance, and retirement planning can help families prepare for unexpected situations.

“In many families, parents’ retirement and medical costs only come up when a hospital bill arrives. By then, siblings are usually arguing about who pays what. I tell clients to talk early and put real numbers on the table. Estimate monthly expenses, check what the parents already have in savings, pension and health cover, and then split the gap based on each sibling’s income, not always equally,” says Richa Kumari, a chartered accountant.

Separate Emergency Fund

One of the first steps siblings should take is to create a dedicated emergency fund for their parents, separate from their personal savings. Medical emergencies, hospitalisation, home repairs and unexpected caregiving expenses can arise without warning. Depending on children’s individual emergency funds to meet these costs can disrupt their own financial plans.

Ideally, siblings should collectively build an emergency corpus covering at least six to twelve months of their parents’ essential expenses, apart from their own. This should include monthly household costs, medicines, routine medical consultations, and other recurring payments. Families with elderly parents or those with existing medical needs may consider maintaining a larger reserve.

Review Health Insurance Coverage

Healthcare can become one of the biggest financial responsibilities during retirement. While some parents may have employer-provided or existing health insurance, siblings should review whether the coverage is sufficient for rising hospitalisation costs.

They should check the sum insured, room-rent limits, co-payment clauses, waiting periods for pre-existing diseases, and exclusions. If parents do not have adequate coverage, siblings can explore a suitable individual senior citizen health insurance policy or other available plans.

Plan Parents’ Retirement

Healthcare planning alone is not enough. Siblings should also assess whether their parents have sufficient retirement income to meet everyday expenses without depending on monthly contributions from their children.

Start by calculating their monthly household expenditure, existing pension income, savings, fixed deposits, and other investments. Identify any shortfall between their regular income and expenses.

A fixed monthly contribution from each sibling can provide consistency and prevent disagreements later.

Financial Planning Is A Shared Responsibility

The most important step is to have an open conversation about parents’ finances. Siblings should maintain a shared record of insurance policies, medical expenses, investments, emergency savings, and important financial documents.

Regular reviews can help families adjust contributions as expenses increase.