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Q. I’m 59 years old, a widower for over ten years and have three kids, ages 14, 19 and 21. My goal is to help them financially for the future. I make just over $100,000 in the Ontario bureaucracy. I owe $59,000 on my mortgage that I want to pay off before I retire in about three years. I pay $1,700 a month in mortgage payments. I estimate I will earn about $40,000 annually in Ontario pension and I plan on working one full year or more after I have paid off the house. So about $1,000 a month will go to the kids every month for at least 12 months. This money will likely go into tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) and/or stocks for them. Is that a good move? I’m also planning on getting a part-time job in retirement, so I’m guessing around $40,000 a year will be added to my pension income for a few years.

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My assets include $100,000 in a registered retirement savings plan (RRSPs) and I plan on leaving the kids the house, which is worth about $800,000, in my will. Any suggestions on what I can do for them, as well as what I should be investing in for my retirement? —Bill, in Ontario

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FP Answers: Bill, there are several things you can do to help your kids financially without putting your own retirement at risk. Parents often ask what more they can do to give their children a strong financial start. For widowed or single parents, the question carries extra weight because every dollar has more than one job to do. When you’re juggling teenage and young-adult children, a mortgage nearing the finish line and retirement close enough to feel real, the pressure can be intense.

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The good news is that helping your children does not have to come at the expense of your own financial security. In fact, one of the most important gifts you can give them is making sure you don’t need their help later. A core principle worth repeating is that no one lends money for retirement. Children can borrow for education or get help starting to invest but a parent who reaches later life financially stable is far less likely to become a burden — emotional or financial — on their kids.

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At 59, with roughly $59,000 left on your mortgage and a plan to eliminate it before retirement, you are making a sound and often underappreciated decision. Entering retirement mortgage-free dramatically lowers fixed expenses and provides flexibility, especially if expected pension income is in the range of $40,000 a year. That $1,700 monthly mortgage payment is doing real work. Once it disappears, the return is not just financial but psychological. You will have fewer obligations, lower risk, and more freedom to choose part-time work because you want to, not because you must.

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When it comes to supporting your kids, timing and structure matter. Once the mortgage is gone, redirecting about $1,000 a month toward helping your children, particularly by investing through TFSAs or similar vehicles, can be a smart move. But structure matters as much as generosity.

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For adult children, TFSA contributions are one of the most powerful tools available. Early contributions allow decades of tax-free growth, which can quietly transform long-term outcomes. The key is that the money must truly be theirs, invested appropriately for their age and risk tolerance, and not treated as a short-term spending account.