Ophelia: If your parents are isolated, i.e. on a farm or distant from shops, doctors, medical facilities, etc., life will become more difficult as they age. Also social services
can’t provide everything and there are certain supports that only families can
provide so you really need to leave emotion aside and draw up a risk assessment of your parents future needs. You should not rule out the possibility that they may not be capable of looking after themselves and that they may need to move closer to you or your brother. If your parents are remote from you, you are running the risk that they will be alone in a crisis / medical emergency. If you are unwilling to accept this risk you should start planning now. Have they personal pensions in addition to state pensions (Good)? Or are they reliant on state pensions? (Bad). Have they got adequate private health insurance? (Good). Or not? (Bad). So you need basically to sit down and work out the vulnerability of your parents. Could you, for example, buy a suitable property now from your own resources or on a mortgage and rent it out until your parents can no longer live on their own? Otherwise, can they sell their property and you or your brother add to what they obtain for it via a mortgage to purchase a new property for them? As you will inherit it look at it as an investment.
One crucial thing, based on personal experience, I would strongly suggest that you put away 30 grand minimum for long term care costs. Do your parents have cash reserves that could be earmarked for this, perhaps supplemented by savings from their pensions? Age Action Ireland says: ‘Grants are available towards the cost of private
nursing home care but they are means tested and range from between
€114.30 to €190.50 a week, far below the minimum €350 to €1,000 or so
required‘ [broken link removed]
According to the Irish Nursing Homes organisation the average weekly cost of nursing home care last year was €609 for a single en suite room, €592 for a
single room, €561 per person for a double room and €564 for a shared
room. But as many of these are dumps you really need to budget higher, i.e. a grand a week. Day / night home carers will reduce the costs but they still could
be significant. You don’t say how old your parents are and they may well
live for 10 - 20 years but because of the costs involved you really
need to start budgeting now for future care costs.