My mother-in-law is in her late 60s and is getting ready to retire. Her expenses each month are $11k, but $2500 of that is paying her mortgage which she has a few years left to pay off (~$40k). Her current portfolio can give her around $8k reliably between SSI, an annuity and withdrawing from her retirement savings (~$1.1m). Her healthcare costs would be lower if she retired from her current job and her income would be lower. Her income could theoretically cover her expenses in retirement if she didn't have to pay her mortgage each month.
My husband is her power of attorney and found out a lot of the details recently. We are financially fortunate and have $40k with which we could pay her mortgage off. As a gift - no strings. This would lower her monthly expenses and bring retirement a lot closer for her.
She is our closest family member and is super involved in our life. She watches our kids and comes on trips with us. She was also a single mom to my husband and his brother who worked her ass off for them. I really admire her and we are so lucky to have family support as our kids have grown up (they are 8 and 10 now).
One little note that gives me a little pause is that my brother in law and his wife currently live with her (they are in their early 30s). They give her $500/month, but I am confident they are costing her more than they are giving. I have never loved this arrangement, but they are all consenting adults - they should be able to do what they want. My brother in law and his wife don't make a ton of money, but they don't have a lot of responsibilities either and could likely live on what they make. I wonder if she weren't supporting them what her expenses would be? I don't think this changes what we would like to offer, but something that makes me a little annoyed.
Any thoughts on this? Is there any consideration I am missing? Any tax implications?