Healthcare Costs in Retirement — Avoid These Big Mistakes

Many of us don’t think about retirement or saving for it until it’s too late. When we do save, we plan for money to cover rent, utilities, groceries, and insurance. However, many people overlook saving for healthcare costs in retirement.

This is by far one of the biggest mistakes you can make during your time preparing and saving for retirement.

Since there is so much information out there on how you should prepare for retirement, it’s essential to understand and recognize the myths associated with retirement saving. So you don’t end up paying for it later when you’re on a fixed income.

Biggest Myth: Medicare Costs Nothing

It’s a common belief among people under 65 that Medicare will take care of all their healthcare expenses in retirement. Most American’s who don’t put in the adequate research into retirement preparation enter retirement thinking Medicare will be entirely free for them.

As hard-working citizens, we have also noticed throughout the years that our employers have deducted money for Medicare from our paychecks. We assume these payroll taxes will support all our medical expenses once we enter retirement.

Unfortunately, that’s far from the truth. What many workers don’t realize is that your payroll taxes only go toward your future hospital benefits under Medicare.

In actuality, when you later sign up for Medicare upon retirement, you will find you have to pay regular monthly premiums for both Part B and Part D coverage in addition to hospital and outpatient deductibles and coinsurance.

Your share of expenses under Medicare will be very similar to your share of healthcare expenses under your insurance coverage now.

This myth — the Medicare is free myth, will absolutely consume your retirement savings if you let it.

Mistakes that Will Greatly Impact Your Retirement Savings

To be as prepared as possible for your healthcare costs in retirement, let’s address some common mistakes you’ll want to avoid making during your retirement saving process.

Failing to Account for…