New saving/investment is the lifeblood of financial services, as well as the fuel for achieving personal financial goals. Yet, many affluent households lack the budget flexibility to keep saving and investing consistently. Why?

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For your clients, you can sum it up in one phrase: health care. Here are a few facts you may want to share, along with sources of each (for your further review):

• Over the last 15 years (2001-16), health care costs for a typical American family of four have increased at an average rate of 8.4% per year, to $25,826 in 2016, according to the Milliman Medical Index (MMI). That’s more than four times the 1.9% average annual increase in the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) over the same period.

• Over this 15-year period, median nominal household income in the U.S. increased at a 1.9% annual rate, according to the U.S. Census.

The gap between a 1.9% nominal gain in median income and an 8.4% annual increase in health care costs has drained a huge amount of the discretionary income Americans once had available for saving and investment.