Ironically, it’s healthier people who need to save the most for health care in retirement, said Anne Tergesen at The Wall Street Journal. The counterintuitive finding from the research by the Empower Institute shows that a 65-year-old male smoker just needs $114,900 to have a 90 percent chance of having enough money to cover lifetime medical expenses. That’s compared with $143,800 for a 65-year-old in good health and $156,000 for a healthy woman of the same age. Healthier people simply live longer, and thus need more savings to last their lifetime.
Furthermore, more people are embracing technology in their daily lives. Technology really improves our health. That means we can all expect to live longer in retirement. It is wise to plan and save for your future health care needs.