Quote:
Originally Posted by webmeezer
Something I don't see mentioned and is a huge expense later in life is both medical care both for yourself and possibly parents. This can be a very, very large expenditure that quickly eclipses your current retirement budget.
We've done 2 parents, 1 relative and 1 friend and it's pretty scary how expensive it is for health care later in life. Medicare and Medicaid (US) can provide some relief, but you need to have planned out your income/savings many years prior to needing help (5 years for Medicaid). This is assuming they're still both subsidizing at the same levels as now.
Assisted living & Nursing care can easily run upwards of $5-10K per month (unsubsidized) with numerous add-ons as the care increases. Additionally, there's your time (which can be substantial) to either care or monitor either a spouse or parent.
We've allocated all of the proceeds from our home/property (in a trust) to be used for our later health care (~$500K) and I'm not sure that will be enough. That/this time of life is where it's good to have had children  |
My mother carries pretty substantial health insurance in addition to Medicare. This is the same insurance that covered my father's $1.2M bill 6 years ago which only cost them $1,500. There's little concern that a health issue will wipe her out financially. If she needs to go in a "home", her current house is paid for and would be sold to cover that expense. She then could tap into her saving investments. She also gets my father's pension and SS until she dies. She's set.
My wife, kids, and I are extremely healthy. None of us have medical issues. Paying out of pocket for health care would certainly be a big factor.