HEALTH CARE COSTS MAY EAT HALF OF YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY INCOME

Jim Lorenzen, CFP^®, AIF^®

The 2016 Retirement Health Care Costs Data Report recently released by Healthview Services found that health care costs are continuing to rise, as if any of us are surprised, of course.

According to Marlene Y. Satter, writing for BenefitsPro.com in the July 2016 issue of Retirement Advisor, a healthy person retiring in 2016 can expect to spend $288,400 in today’s dollars on lifetime Medicare Parts B, D, and supplemental insurance premiums.

There’s more. Ms. Satter indicates that Social Security isn’t going to be of much help, either:

• A 66-year-old retiring this year will need 57% of the Social Security to cover health care costs.
• A 44-year-old retiring in 10 years will need 88%.
• A 45-year-old couple will require 116%!

And, she says, it’s going to get worse! A 30-year-old female retiring at 65 can expect to pay $548,098… $118,632 more than a male the same age.

Wow.

What to do?

The simple truth for long-term investors is that nothing beats growth; but older investors may be tempted to grab any “sure thing” that comes down the path – thus the popularity of annuities, even at current low interest rates.

But, before you leap, it’s worth doing some homework. You can begin with the Income Annuity Primer. It won’t tell you everything you need to know; but, it’s a start.

Naturally, the Social Security claiming decision can be a costly mistake if not made properly. We have a LifeGuide on retirement and Social Security you might like, as well. You can get it here.

Enjoy!

Jim

Jim Lorenzen is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^® professional and An Accredited Investment Fiduciary^® serving private clients since 1991. Jim is Founding Principal of The Independent Financial Group, a registered investment advisor with clients located across the U.S.. He is also licensed for insurance as an independent agent under California license 0C00742. The Independent Financial Group does not provide legal or tax advice and nothing contained herein should be construed as securities or investment advice, nor an opinion regarding the appropriateness of any investment to the individual reader. The general information provided should not be acted upon without obtaining specific legal, tax, and investment advice from an appropriate licensed professional.

Jim Lorenzen

Jim Lorenzen is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional and an ACCREDITED INVESTMENT FIDUCIARY® serving private clients’ wealth management needs since 1991. Jim is Founding Principal of The Independent Financial Group, a Registered Investment Advisor providing wealth management, retirement planning and investment advisory services. Jim's background includes founding, building, and selling five successful businesses and international consulting. He has been headline speaker at more than 500 national and international association and corporate conventions for clients such as Foster Grant, Hobie Cat, CapCities/ABC, H.R. Textron, Hearst Corporation, The National Management Association, the National Newspaper Association, and Cox Communications and has been featured on American Airlines' Sky Radio heard on more than 19,000 flights, as well as in The Wall Street Journal’s SmartMoney magazine, The Profit Sharing Council of America’s Insights; also published in the Journal of Compensation and Benefits, NASDAQ, and in scores of national and international association trade publications.

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