Healthy individuals may want to consider saving more for their retirement. A new study sheds fresh light on the connection between health and expenses during retirement.
The Empower Institute, according to Benefitspro, says in a recent study that health can be a factor affecting retirement and retirement saving in a variety of ways — including the counterintuitive.
If an individual who is not healthy retires, that person obviously will need to spend more on health care than a retired individual who is healthy. Hopefully, such an individual made provision for that care in the process of saving for retirement. But will such an individual really spend more during retirement than someone who is healthy?
$144,000 — what a 65-year-old male who is healthy at retirement will need during retirement to cover Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket medical expenses
$130,000 — what a 65-year-old male who has a cancer diagnosis at retirement will need during retirement to cover Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket medical expenses
$88,000 — what a 65-year-old male who is diabetic at retirement will need during retirement to cover Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket medical expenses
The upshot, says Empower, is that healthy retirees will need to save more to cover health-related premiums and expenses due to the prospect of longer lifespans — and serious health conditions do not necessarily spell higher health care expenses during retirement. And these findings create a possible wrinkle regarding how anticipated health care expenses are taken into account when saving for retirement.
The Empower Institute, according to Benefitspro, says in a recent study that health can be a factor affecting retirement and retirement saving in a variety of ways — including the counterintuitive.
If an individual who is not healthy retires, that person obviously will need to spend more on health care than a retired individual who is healthy. Hopefully, such an individual made provision for that care in the process of saving for retirement. But will such an individual really spend more during retirement than someone who is healthy?
Healthy individuals have serious considerations regarding health when they retire as well. That’s because of their likely increased lifespan — the longer they live, the more conditions and illnesses may arise that will require care and the expenditure of funds during retirement. Empower’s study illustrates this:
$144,000 — what a 65-year-old male who is healthy at retirement will need during retirement to cover Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket medical expenses
$130,000 — what a 65-year-old male who has a cancer diagnosis at retirement will need during retirement to cover Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket medical expenses
$88,000 — what a 65-year-old male who is diabetic at retirement will need during retirement to cover Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket medical expenses
The upshot, says Empower, is that healthy retirees will need to save more to cover health-related premiums and expenses due to the prospect of longer lifespans — and serious health conditions do not necessarily spell higher health care expenses during retirement. And these findings create a possible wrinkle regarding how anticipated health care expenses are taken into account when saving for retirement.
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