Health expenses may have more or less held the line in recent years, but that’s over.

That’s according to a new study that says people saving for retirement will have their work cut out for them in trying to cover such expenses in the future.

The analysis from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) found that in 2012, Medicare covered 60 percent of health care expenses for Medicare beneficiaries ages 65 and older, who then had to fork out funds to cover another 13 percent and counted on private insurance to pay another 15 percent.

Now, however, things look considerably bleaker.

Because of increases in deductibles, the gap known as the “donut hole” in outpatient prescription drug coverage and cutbacks to both private employment-based retirement plans and the Medicare program, retirees will need more—a lot more—to pay their health care bills.

The study found that, unlike estimates in a 2014 EBRI study, the savings targets for a 65-year-old retiring in 2015 have increased substantially and ranges between 6–21 percent.

“In 2015,” the study said, “a 65-year-old man needs $68,000 in savings and a 65-year-old woman needs $89,000 if each has a goal of having a 50 percent chance of having enough money saved to cover health care expenses in retirement. If either instead wants a 90 percent chance of having enough savings, $124,000 is needed for a man and $140,000 is needed for a woman. This analysis does not factor in the savings needed to cover long-term care expenses.”

Factor in the cost of drugs and it gets worse: “For a married couple both with drug expenses at the 90th percentile throughout retirement who want a 90 percent chance of having enough money saved for health care expenses in retirement by age 65, targeted savings increased from $326,000 in 2014 to $392,000 in 2015.”

The study noted that many people would need even more money, not just to pay for long-term care expenses but also if they retired before they became eligible for Medicare.

While some would actually be able to save less if they were able to work past age 65 and postpone enrollment in Medicare Parts B and D if they managed to keep employer health benefits, far more are likely to be in the opposite position.

Instant Insights /

Medicare gap will take more money for health care from savings

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