The decision to help a child buy their first home is not a simple one. It is an act of generosity that can, if structured poorly, compromise the very financial security that makes such generosity possible. The question worth asking before any commitment is made is how to help without diminishing what has been built — not whether to help at all.

Most retirement planning conversations focus on the balance required to stop working. Few address the structure, identity, and social connection that work provides — and what replaces them.