Retiree Health Benefits : Savings Needed to Fund Health Care in Retirement

This Issue Brief presents estimates of how much money a person will need to save to completely pay for health insurance and out-of-pocket health care costs during retirement. The combination of the erosion of employment-based retiree health benefits and limited benefits from Medicare and Medigap means that retirees should expect to pay a significant amount of money for health insurance and health care services during retirement. Various illustrations of needed savings are presented in this report, based on a number of assumptions regarding insurance premium levels and how they might change over time, the source of coverage, rates of return on investment, age at retirement, and life expectancy