Retirement Medical Costs Keep Rising

The annual retirement health care estimate prepared for Fidelity Investments found that costs keep rising. The estimate for 2017 says that costs are 6% higher than in last year’s estimate. The report estimates lifetime medical expenses for a couple that is 65-years-old today will be $275,000, compared to $260,000 last year.

That estimate doesn’t include all costs. It excludes, dental, vision, long-term care expenses and some others. Compare the Fidelity estimate with this one from EBRI, which establishes a range of estimated costs for couples who need different levels of care.

The bottom line is that even for healthy people medical care in retirement will be expensive, and a lot of it won’t be paid by employers or the government. You need to explore the strategies we recommend in Retirement Watch.