Beyond the Numbers: Building a Health-First Retirement Plan That Actually Works
Beyond the Numbers: Building a Health-First Retirement Plan That Actually Works Most retirement calculators spit out a magic number – maybe it's $1.2 million or $2.5 million – but what happens when you hit 72 and need $8,000 monthly just for prescription drugs? At Amerus Insurance Group , we've watched too many families realize their retirement 'number' didn't account for the reality of aging in America, where healthcare costs can consume 30-40% of retirement income. The Fatal Flaw in Traditional Retirement Math Here's what happens when you calculate retirement like it's 1985: you assume healthcare costs will grow at general inflation rates (around 3% annually), but medical inflation has averaged 6.5% over the past two decades according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That means healthcare expenses double every 11 years instead of every 23 years. We've seen clients who diligently saved 15% of their income for 30 years only to discover their ...