Parents ko health cover chahiye and your salary is still PG-sized. This is not a simple “be a good child” tweet. It is a priority ladder: your survival runway, then catastrophic cover, then optimisation.
Priority ladder
- 1.Your emergency fund (even a starter 1–2 months).
- 2.Your own health cover if employer cover is weak or you job-hop.
- 3.Parents’ health insurance (especially if they have no cover).
- 4.Investing / SIPs beyond the minimum.
How to decide amount
Cover should reflect city hospital costs and parents’ age/conditions — not Instagram peer pressure. A base policy plus super top-up is often more realistic than one giant premium that breaks your budget.
Under the old regime, Section 80D can reduce tax for premiums paid for parents (higher limits for senior citizens). Under the new regime, buy for protection, not deduction.
The takeaway
Have the money talk with parents: what you can pay monthly without going broke AF. Duty without a plan becomes resentment.