wanderer69
Dryer sheet wannabe
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2005
- Messages
- 17
This is a huge one for me:
One of the most pressing financial concerns facing prospective retirees is whether they will have enough money to pay for medical and long-term care expenses. Health care costs have risen rapidly over the last decade and show no signs of abating. A 65-year-old couple retiring in 2012 is estimated to need $240,000 to cover out-of-pocket medical expenses -- the costs not covered by Medicare -- throughout retirement, according to the latest retiree health care costs estimate calculated by Fidelity Investments. This represents a 50% increase from 2002, when the estimate was $160,000.
Out-of-pocket medical costs are likely to continue to rise, says Olivia S. Mitchell, a Wharton professor who specializes in health/retirement analysis and policy. "Nobody knows how the U.S. will ultimately resolve its fiscal problems," she says. "Medicare and Social Security are the biggest drain on the budget. I believe that more of the retiree health care cost burden will be borne by consumers in the form of higher co-pays and higher premiums in the future."
Many countries offer subsidized national health care. Depending on citizenship and age requirements, foreigners are often eligible for the programs, and the level of medical care is generally quite high. "Medical tourism is becoming very popular to Singapore, India and Thailand," says Mitchell, executive director of the Pension Research Council. "Many of the doctors in those countries trained in the U.S., and the costs might be a quarter of U.S. fees."
What's Driving Americans to Retire Abroad? Money -- or Lack of It - Knowledge@Wharton
One of the most pressing financial concerns facing prospective retirees is whether they will have enough money to pay for medical and long-term care expenses. Health care costs have risen rapidly over the last decade and show no signs of abating. A 65-year-old couple retiring in 2012 is estimated to need $240,000 to cover out-of-pocket medical expenses -- the costs not covered by Medicare -- throughout retirement, according to the latest retiree health care costs estimate calculated by Fidelity Investments. This represents a 50% increase from 2002, when the estimate was $160,000.
Out-of-pocket medical costs are likely to continue to rise, says Olivia S. Mitchell, a Wharton professor who specializes in health/retirement analysis and policy. "Nobody knows how the U.S. will ultimately resolve its fiscal problems," she says. "Medicare and Social Security are the biggest drain on the budget. I believe that more of the retiree health care cost burden will be borne by consumers in the form of higher co-pays and higher premiums in the future."
Many countries offer subsidized national health care. Depending on citizenship and age requirements, foreigners are often eligible for the programs, and the level of medical care is generally quite high. "Medical tourism is becoming very popular to Singapore, India and Thailand," says Mitchell, executive director of the Pension Research Council. "Many of the doctors in those countries trained in the U.S., and the costs might be a quarter of U.S. fees."
What's Driving Americans to Retire Abroad? Money -- or Lack of It - Knowledge@Wharton