More than 62 percent of pre-retirees now say they are “terrified” of what health care costs may do to their retirement plans, according to an annual Nationwide Retirement Institute survey. The survey reveals concern about out-of-control health care costs and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) increasing those costs.
According to the online survey conducted from Oct. 6 – 14, 2014, by Harris Poll of 801 Americans age 50 or older with at least $150,000 in household income (“affluent boomers”), 72 percent say one of their top fears in retirement is their health care costs going out of control. More than half (55 percent) believe the ACA will increase those costs and more than one-quarter of employed affluent boomers (26 percent) now believe they will never retire.
“Even America’s affluent workers don’t know how they will fund their health care costs in retirement and they don’t expect ObamaCare will help them,” said John Carter, president of Nationwide’s retirement plans business, which provides defined contribution and defined benefit plans to more than two million participants, representing nearly $100 billion in assets under management. “The attention the ACA has received in the past year has increased awareness of health care costs in retirement. We think that’s a step in the right direction, and what Americans need now is a plan to adequately prepare for those costs. It is possible. However instead of making a plan, too often the ‘plan’ is to just continue working.”
The attention the ACA has received in the past year has increased the percent of pre-retirees who feel very confident to confident that they know their personal benefits and consequences of the ACA (32 percent vs. 24 percent). Yet, pre-retirees are also more likely than last year to say they expect their biggest expense in retirement to be the cost of health care (51 percent vs. 43 percent).
Many Americans like aspects of the ACA, such as guaranteed coverage and access to multiple insurers. However, most affluent boomers (64 percent) believe the ACA will be a significant drain on the U.S. economy and will do more harm than good to their employer (63 percent). More than two in five affluent boomers (45 percent) say they would delay their retirement if they had to buy their own health insurance. Over one-quarter of parents (27 percent) say they would delay their retirement in order to keep their children on their employer-based health insurance plan.
Understanding Medicare
Over three in five affluent pre-retirees (61 percent) wish they understood Medicare coverage better, and 73 percent of those who discussed their retirement plans with a financial advisor say it is important or very important their financial advisor discusses health care costs during retirement with them when planning for retirement. Nearly two-thirds of affluent pre-retirees enrolled in Medicare did not know that Medicare does not cover long-term care costs.
Solutions available
However, 77 percent say they have not discussed their health care costs during retirement with a professional financial advisor. Of those who have talked with an advisor, three-quarters (75 percent) discussed health care costs in retirement not covered by Medicare.
To help simplify this complicated issue and encourage these discussions, Nationwide’s Personalized Health Care Assessment uses proprietary health risk analysis and up-to-date actuarial cost data such as personal health and lifestyle information, health care costs, and medical coverage to provide a meaningful, personalized cost estimate that will help clients plan for medical expenses. For those under 65, it bases its calculations on the average cost of a Silver Plan in the Affordable Care Act exchanges in their state.
“It’s much easier for advisors to have these difficult conversations when they can use a tool to provide a fact-based cost estimate based on their clients’ health risk and lifestyle,” said Kevin McGarry, director of the Nationwide Retirement Institute. “They now can break down and simplify a complex topic to take clients from terrified to confident.”