Watching the Health Care Squeeze
A 65–year–old couple who retire today and live to life expectancy can expect to spend almost $300,000, on average, for health insurance premiums and out–of–pocket expenses, assuming they have access to retiree health benefits from a former employer and pay the entire premium. But employer–sponsored retiree health benefits are becoming rare, and the outlook for retirees who will need to rely on Medicare is also dire. Medicare is facing insolvency in 2018, and experts are predicting that benefits will be reduced in the future. Medicare benefits currently cover only about half the cost of health-care services. If benefits are reduced,…
