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The study, conducted by researchers Jinkook Leeand Hyungsoo Kim, said that even among those with stable health, 61% of married couples and 54% of singles lost at least 10% of their savings to medical costs during the four-year research period. If one spouse in a married couple was diagnosed with a new medical condition after retirement, the risk rose substantially: 45% of couples lost at least half their savings after such a diagnosis.
All this is enough to send even die-hard optimists like me to the nearest bar to get that glass filled with something other than H2O.
Time to take action
But we're not helpless. There are things we can do to mitigate our own risk. Among them:- Figure out where you stand. Will you have any employer benefits to carry into retirement? Do you know how to enroll in Medicare and what it covers? Have you thought about a prescription-drug plan? (For a more complete list of what you'll need to think about, see "Your get-ready-to-retire checklist.")
- Save some more. MSN Money's Retirement Planner can help you figure out how much you need to save to replace various percentages of your current income. Once you've figured out how much you're likely to need annually in retirement (70% to 80% of your current gross is typical), add $10,000 or so to that figure if you expect to retire within 20 years, $20,000 if retirement is 30 years off and $40,000 if retirement is 40 years away. This may be overkill if we tame medical inflation or your health is better than average, but what the heck. You can spend any extra money on cruises or spoiling your great-grandchildren.
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- Get long-term-care insurance. AARP has a primer; also check out "No long-term-care insurance? Uh-oh." Unless you're really poor and likely to go on public assistance, or really rich and able to afford the costs out of pocket, you'll want to at least investigate this coverage and probably buy it in your 50s or 60s.
- Take care of yourself. My mother died of colon cancer at 62, so I'm well aware that even folks who are careful about their health can get awful diseases. (She watched her weight, exercised regularly, ate healthful food, didn't smoke and rarely drank. What she missed was regular colonoscopies, which could have caught this disease early, when it's almost always treatable. If you're 50 or over, schedule one today.)
But many of the health problems that plague us are the result of our own choices. So do what you need to do to get and stay in good shape. Eat right, exercise, give up unhealthful habits such as smoking and tailgating. Get those physicals and screenings. Take your meds. Remember the bumper sticker: "If I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself."
Published April 17, 2008
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