Saving for health care after retirement is less costly than it was just a few years ago thanks to the slowed growth of health care spending. But that鈥檚 just part of the picture.
A from the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that Medicare beneficiaries, who are 65 years or older, would need to save six to 11 percent less in 2013 than they did in 2012.
Men hoping for a 50-percent chance of having enough money saved for retirement health costs would need an average of $65,000. For women, who have longer life expectancies and related costs, the savings goal would be about $86,000.
鈥淭hese numbers are still uncertain, and they鈥檙e still high,鈥 said Paul Fronstin, director of the institute鈥檚 research and education program, and author of the report. 鈥淏ut I don鈥檛 want to minimize the good news 鈥 they may be less shocking than they were.鈥
He pointed out that because of the Affordable Care Act, Medicare beneficiaries聽are also聽 paying less out of pocket for prescription drugs. The health law reduces the size of Medicare鈥檚 鈥,鈥 the聽gap in prescription drug coverage where beneficiaries cover all the costs.
Even so, saving for retirement won鈥檛 necessarily be easier in coming years. The report notes that its analysis doesn鈥檛 account for long-term care expenses like nursing home care, or for聽costs incurred by those who retire before they’re eligible for Medicare.
Some employers may also scale back their worker benefits, and pension program changes could mean less retirement savings, said Patricia Neuman, director of the Kaiser Family Foundation鈥檚 Program on Medicare Policy and its聽Project On Medicare鈥檚 Future. (KHN is an editorially independent program of the foundation.)
She said that racial and ethnic disparities would , and that black and Hispanic populations were projected to聽see fewer gains in income, assets and health care access.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always good news when medical costs go down,鈥 she said. 鈥淏ut I guess the broader issue is that many seniors don鈥檛 have sufficient savings. And the Medicare population in 2030 won鈥檛 be much wealthier than the Medicare population today.鈥
