Retirement Fund or Privileged Kid? Why People Always Have Something to Say

People Will Always Talk About Whether You’re a Retirement Fund or Privileged Kid

Whether you’re seen as your parents’ retirement fund or labeled as a privileged kid, one thing is clear: people will always have something to say. If you grew up in a family that’s not well-off, you’ll hear things like:
“Kawawa naman yung anak, ginawa ng retirement fund ng magulang.”
But if you grew up in comfort, it flips:
“Nakukuha naman niya lahat ng gusto kasi mayaman ang magulang.”

Two extremes. Same result: judgment.
And somewhere in the middle are people just trying to live life without all these labels. This is where the question comes in: Retirement fund or privileged kid, does it really matter?

When You’re the Family’s Retirement Fund

This is a familiar story for many of us in the Philippines and in a lot of Asian cultures. Parents work hard to send their kids to school, believing education is the ticket to a better life. And honestly, it usually is.

But the unspoken part? For some parents, it is not just about giving their kids a future. It is also about securing their own. After all, not every family has a retirement plan or pension waiting for them.

So when the kids graduate and land jobs, expectations start creeping in:

• “Anak, kami naman ang alagaan mo.”
• “Konti lang, pang-grocery lang.”
• Or sometimes, it is the whole household’s expenses.

Supporting your parents is not wrong. It is love and gratitude in action. But where it gets tricky is when the pressure becomes too heavy and the child’s own dreams take a backseat.

And then comes the judgment from others:
“Ginawang retirement fund ng magulang, kawawa naman.”
But those same people will not pay your parents’ bills, right?

(Related: Why We’re All Quietly Reframing Our Relationship with Money)

Growing Up as a Privileged Kid

Now, flip the coin. You have friends or acquaintances who grew up in comfort. They did not need to send money home every month. Their parents already handled retirement and maybe even passed down a family business.

Sounds like a dream life, right?
Well, not exactly. Because judgment does not stop there either:

• “Spoiled yan, kaya wala alam sa hirap.”
• “Easy life kasi mayaman magulang, kaya ganun.”
• “Everything was handed to them.”

What people do not see is the pressure of privilege. The expectation to live up to the family’s reputation, to succeed because failure is not an option, to constantly prove you deserve what you have. It is a different kind of weight that often gets dismissed because, well, “first-world problem daw.”

(Learn more about this topic on Investopedia: Generational Wealth)

Why People Always Judge Whether You’re a Retirement Fund or Privileged Kid

Whether you are the family’s retirement fund or a child of wealth, people will judge.

• If you give everything to your parents, you are “kawawa.”
• If you do not give, you are “walang utang na loob.”
• If you are rich, you are “privileged and spoiled.”
• If you are struggling, you are “lazy” or “not smart enough.”

It is a cycle that never ends. And honestly, it says more about them than about you.

My Take: Being a Retirement Fund or Privileged Kid Comes with Its Own Weight

I have seen both sides. Some of my friends were breadwinners, carrying the family on their backs. Some were financially free because of their parents’ success. But here is what I realized: neither path is easy.

Being the family’s retirement fund? That takes strength, patience, and a lot of sacrifice. It means sometimes postponing your own dreams to give back. And that deserves respect, not pity.

Growing up wealthy? That is not automatically a free pass to happiness. It comes with pressure, comparisons, and sometimes the loneliness of being misunderstood. That also deserves empathy, not envy.

At the end of the day, we are all just trying to make it work. Different starting points, different battles, same goal: to live a life that feels right for us.

Live Your Truth and Ignore the Noise

If there is one thing I have learned, it is this: you cannot control what people say. Whether you are supporting your parents or building a business with your family’s resources, someone will always have a comment.

And most of the time, those comments come from the usual “Marites” in your area (you know who you are and you know who they are. haha). They often stress more about your life than you do. Sometimes it is envy. Sometimes it is pure crab mentality. Either way, it is not worth your energy.

So instead of living for their approval, live for your peace. Make decisions that make sense for you and your family, not for the people watching from the sidelines.

Because at the end of the day, the noise fades. But the life you build? That is yours to keep.

What about you? Do you think being a retirement fund or a privileged kid really defines someone’s life, or is it just noise from the sidelines?