How Much Does Health Spending Eat Away at Retirees’ Income? An Update

The brief’s key findings are:

With concerns about affordability front and center, the burden of out-of-pocket health spending relative to income is a key measure of retirement well-being.

Even with Medicare coverage and ignoring long-term care, retirees face sizable costs for premiums, copays, and uncovered services.

After subtracting these costs, the typical retiree has only 71 percent of Social Security and 88 percent of total income left.

This burden was fairly steady during the period analyzed – 2018 to 2022 – but many retirees may be worried that it could grow in the future.