Some parents want grandkids. Others want their kids to visit more. Then there are the parents who\u2014apparently\u2014want their kids to fund their retirement.<\/p>\n
That was the jaw-dropper from a listener named Hannah in Florida, whose letter to “The Ramsey Show”<\/a> left hosts Dave Ramsey and John Delony both shocked and deeply concerned. Hannah is 21, married, and a new mom\u2014and her parents recently told her that she “owes” them and should help pay for their retirement<\/a>.<\/p>\n Delony read the letter aloud, pausing only to process the audacity. “I am 21, married, and a new parent to a son,” Hannah wrote. “My parents approached me recently about funding their retirement because I \u2018owe’ them. There’s been a lot of damage done in the past, and to be honest, I’ve lost respect for them.”<\/p>\n Cue Ramsey’s dry, immediate reaction: “Well, no kidding.”<\/p>\n Don’t Miss:<\/p>\n You’ve Got To Be The Adult In This Situation<\/p>\n Delony was firm. “You don’t owe your parents retirement,” he said flatly. “Yes, there’s clearly been a lot of damage done… and at this point, you need to be confident and strong. You’ve got a new family.”<\/p>\n He compared the situation to having a metaphorical grenade dropped in her lap. “Not by your hand, but in your lap\u2014somebody put a grenade there and you’ve got to deal with it. That means you’ve got to be the adult in the situation.”<\/p>\n His advice was direct. “It could be easy to just block them and never talk to them again, but that just shoves the problem in a box and throws it in the ocean,” Delony said. Instead, he suggested she write a clear message: “I’m not going to do this. My husband and I have talked about boundaries, and here’s how we’re moving forward.”<\/p>\n Trending: Accredited Investors Can Now Tap Into the $36 Trillion Home Equity Market \u2014 Without Buying a Single Property<\/a><\/p>\n Proof You Don’t Have To Pass A Test To Be A Parent<\/p>\n By now, Delony’s frustration was obvious. “This is so toxic and so gross<\/a> I don’t even know what to do with it,” he said.<\/p>\n Ramsey jumped in with his trademark bluntness. “Proof you don’t have to pass a test to be a parent,” he said. “Some of you people would flunk. Your parents are weird. You don’t owe them a retirement.”<\/p>\n He emphasized that while it’s okay to maintain love and civility, Hannah needed to stop feeling guilty. “You don’t have to cut them out of your life,” he said, “but you do have to say, calmly, \u2018No, we don’t owe you a retirement.’ You can still love them, invite them over, make them a meal\u2014just make sure they behave while they’re there.”<\/p>\n Delony agreed and warned her to brace for backlash. “When people who don’t have good boundaries get them handed to them, they flip out,” he said. “Expect them to call you ungrateful, expect guilt trips, expect chaos. But that doesn’t mean it’s the wrong thing to do.”<\/p>\n Ramsey chimed in again: “These are people who’ll make you feel bad for doing what’s right. But you’re the adult now. Protect your peace.”<\/p>\n See Also: This Jeff Bezos-backed startup will allow you to become a landlord in just 10 minutes, with minimum investments as low as $100<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Heart Of It All<\/p>\n In the final minutes, Delony circled back with empathy. “I can’t imagine calling my own kids and saying, \u2018Hey, you owe me for those diapers,'” he said, shaking his head. “It’s heartbreaking that this young woman has to deal with that kind of manipulation so early in life.”<\/p>\n Ramsey summed it up best: “You don’t owe them. All you owe is love\u2014and you can pay that debt every day without writing a check.”<\/p>\n For Hannah, the message was clear: being a grown-up sometimes means saying “no” to the people who raised you.<\/p>\n And for everyone else listening\u2014especially those with complicated family ties\u2014the takeaway was as blunt as Ramsey himself: love your parents, but don’t let them bankrupt your future<\/a> in the name of gratitude.<\/p>\n Read Next: Backed by $300M+ in Assets and Microsoft’s Climate Fund, Farmland LP<\/a> Opens Vital Farmland III to Accredited Investors<\/p>\n Image: Shutterstock<\/p>\n Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge’s one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights<\/a> that can set you ahead in today’s competitive market.<\/p>\n Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga?<\/p>\n This article 21-Year-Old Tells Dave Ramsey Her Parents Want Her To Fund Their Retirement Because She ‘Owes’ Them \u2014 ‘You’ve Got To Be The Adult In This Situation’<\/a> originally appeared on Benzinga.com<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a9 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some parents want grandkids. Others want their kids to visit more. 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