Fresh out of university two years ago, I started my first full-time job and felt like I was finally getting my adult life together. I was earning a stable income, I had a plan to gradually clear my hefty student loan, I was saving, investing and I even had the necessary insurance plans for myself. Then one day, while having a casual chat with my financial adviser, he asked a question that caught me off guard. “What about your parents’ healthcare?” That’s when I realised that both their medical insurance plans have lapsed.

Suddenly, I wasn’t just planning for myself anymore. At 26, I was already feeling like I was part of the sandwich generation. Here’s how I navigated between planning for my parents’ healthcare and my own future.

The unexpected burden of responsibility at 26

Although I’m in my 20s and still learning about life, I’ve come to realise that I know more about insurance than my parents. My work in insurance has made me see how fast medical costs are rising in Singapore. According to WTW’s 2025 Global Medical Trends Survey, medical costs in Asia Pacific are expected to increase by 12.3% this year, higher than the 11.9% increase realised in 2024. Additionally, hospital bills tend to go up with age due to greater health risks. Without proper hospitalisation coverage, a single emergency could put a significant dent in one’s savings.
 

On the other hand, when my parents were growing up, financial protection wasn’t a priority; they were not educated about its importance and they had their hands full with other responsibilities. Perhaps insurance felt like a luxury, not a necessity.

Now in their 50s and 60s, however, they are nearing retirement. Without medical insurance, the reality is that the burden of their healthcare costs from emergencies or long-term care could fall on me.

That was when I came face to face with the reality of being part of the sandwich generation at just 26. I was just starting to build a stable future for myself, and while I’m not yet married and don’t have kids, I was already feeling the weight of looking after my parents.

The guilt of choosing between my future and my parents’ security

The dilemma hit me hard: should I save more cash in case my parents need it for a medical emergency one day, or should I bite the bullet and set aside more money for their medical insurance now so that if they were to need hospital treatment, our savings would be untouched?

It was not an easy decision to make considering my tight budget. Every month, I allocate 15% of my salary to my own insurance plans, 15% to my student loan repayment, 20% to cash savings and the rest to daily necessities like food, transport and bills, leaving little for my wants.

Setting aside another chunk for my parents’ medical insurance or future healthcare costs could suffocate my budget, leaving less for my future – things like my own home and other big-ticket items.

What I’m doing about it now

Realising how vulnerable we could be without a proper plan, I knew worrying about it wasn’t enough. I needed to take action. I had to have a serious conversation with my parents. But because they’ve never fully appreciated the importance of insurance, it wasn’t going to be straightforward. So, here’s how I took control of the delicate situation:
 

1. I decided to reframe the conversation from “insurance” to “dignity and peace of mind”. I knew that if I brought up insurance directly, I’d hit a wall. So instead of taking that route, I tried to understand what mattered most to my parents – staying independent and financially supporting my younger brother's education. From there, I started preparing to guide the conversation towards how financial protection supports those very goals that matter to them.
   
   
2. I worked with finance professionals to get advice and devise a strategy. 
   I walked my financial adviser through my current financial situation to discuss how I could tackle different scenarios in my current financial state. What would be my course of action if one parent got seriously ill? What if both of them needed hospital care in the same year? Was I able to fit my parents’ healthcare plans into my budget if I needed to financially support them? What would I need to cut back on in order to finance their needs?
   
   
3. I studied the healthcare system so I could explain it in a way they’d understand. My parents still think that insurance cover everything, when the reality is quite different. For instance, the Health Ministry has mandated a minimum 5% co-payment for Integrated Shield Plan (IP) riders sold from April 2019. I wanted to be ready to explain how things have changed and help them see why proper coverage with a private insurer matters today. For starters, I revisited the basics – how the national medical savings scheme MediSave helps Singaporeans set aside savings for medical needs, what the national medical insurance scheme MediShield Life actually covers – mainly large bills in subsidised wards – and its coverage limitations. I also learned how IPs and riders can plug those gaps especially if my parents wanted access to private hospitals or higher-class wards at public hospitals. My goal was to explain the facts to them in clear, relatable terms.
   
   
4. I reviewed my financial bandwidth. Before offering help, I needed to be honest with myself: Could I really afford it? I had to assess if I had some flexibility with my budget, and what trade-offs I might need to make if I were to take on all or part of their insurance premium costs. I wanted to ensure that I arrived at a solution that was sustainable, and did not make a decision solely based on emotions.

Closing thoughts

Experiencing the emotions and concerns of being in the sandwich generation first hand shifted my perspective on personal financial planning. It wasn’t just about my checking off my goals and personal needs – I realised that it’s also about looking after my loved ones, and that comes with preparing for the unforeseen and sometimes even putting yourself through uncomfortable situations.
 

In the next part of this post, I’ll share how I finally sat down with my parents and asked the tough questions to kickstart the conversation about their healthcare planning, their fears, assumptions and ultimately, who’s responsible for their healthcare planning.