36-year-old sister racks up unfinished classes and short-lived jobs while her parents foot every bill and let her hang around for years, confident someone else will handle the mess when retirement rolls in. Days blend into each other with routines built around scrolling and sleeping, and every fresh start funded by a parental safety net already stretched thin.

So it’s pretty understandable why her 29-year-old brother starts to worry as he watches the timeline shrink, knowing the retirement countdown means the handoffs are coming. The family plan has always been hope, patience, and extra cash, but pretty soon those solutions pack up along with the old office desk and pension paperwork. Worry grows that graduation from the bank of mom and dad means getting drafted into a full-time rescue mission, no matter what’s going on at home or who gets dragged into the drama.