Many people save up for retirement with visions of traveling, pursuing their dreams and experiencing the items on their “bucket list”. Yet, our country’s elders may need to make a different plan as increasingly more of their retirement nest egg is funneled into rising health care costs. According to a recent study by HealthView Services “2015 Retirement Health Care Costs Data Report,” a couple who retires at 65 can expect to pay an average of $266,589 over the span of their retirement to cover Medicare Part A, B and D premiums and their supplemental insurance policy. That number goes up to $394,954 when including dental, vision and other coinsurance, copayments and deductible costs. Couples who retire 10 years earlier at 55 years of age can expect to pay an average of $463,849.
Where will all this money come from in a population where 50% of all Medicare beneficiaries have annual incomes below $23,500 as of 2013 data? It will most likely come from the one of the greatest source of income for most beneficiaries, their Social Security checks. According to 2014 data, the report shows that for the average 66-year-old couple retiring in 2015, who are eligible for full Social Security benefits, their total health care costs will use up 67% of their lifetime Social Security benefits. Furthermore, for couples retiring 10 years from now, health care costs are projected to consume 90% of their SS benefits.
For more details on this report and accompanying charts, view the article, These 5 Charts Predict What Retirees Will Pay For Health Care Over the Next 10 Years.
