What expenses to account for when you are over the age of 65?

Saving
#1

Hello PFC community!

I was wondering what expenses to account for when you are over the age of 65? And how to find out how much these may cost?

Just wondering if it will be more or less than my current average spending per year of about 50-60K/year.

Things like medicare, long term care, maybe living in a retirement community, assisted living costs, etc.

Thanks!
Sean

#2

Hi Sean! You’re thinking about it the exact right way. The best way to do this would be to monitor your expenses now and go through them line by line to figure out which ones you likely won’t have in retirement, as well as any additional ones you might have once you retire.

The biggest expense that is hard to calculate is healthcare / long term care. This can vary a ton based on a number of factors. Depending on how far you are from retirement, it may be worthwhile to figure out the cost of the Medicare plan you may go with, as well as any additional coverage you may want. This will help give you your medical expense budget.

Remember when you calculate retirement expenses, plan on them going up roughly 2-3% per year while in retirement. This will help you factor in inflation as well to your calculations.

#3

thanks Shane!

Any other expenses to think about over the age of 65?

#4

No, I think you’re thinking about all the main ones! Generally, most living expenses go up in the early years of retirement (e.g., travel more, golf more, etc) and then become gradually lower as you get older with one big exception: healthcare. Healthcare progressively can go up as you age. Healthcare would include things like long term care, medicare premiums, supplemental coverage, etc.

I think you are thinking through everything exactly right!