Uncovered medical expenses come up often on this site but usually it’s in relation to avoiding institutional care due to health conditions such as stroke or Alzheimer’s. But according to this article on AARP’s website, with the costs of routine care such as hearing aids, eyeglasses and out-of-pocket expenses for prescription drugs the average 65-year-old couple that retires this year will incur $240,000 of future medical costs. Those costs do not take into account long-term care costs, but instead are the costs of a reasonably healthy person as they age.
What can you do about these costs? AARP recommends that you consider an HSA account if you haven’t already reached retirement age and that you purchase a Medicare Advantage private health plan. The biggest solution to the problem though is likely to be recognizing the costs exists and planning for them before retirement so that they don’t become the reason retirement becomes stressful for you.
