Healthcare cost worries may be causing retirees to curtail lifestyle spending

Concerns about healthcare costs may be leading retirees to spend less and put limits on their lifestyles in retirement, according to the results of a new survey.

Healthcare costs are the top concern for a group of Americans aged 60 to 70 participating in new research by eHealth and Retirable. Results of the survey of more than 520 people, some of whom already are retired and enrolled in Medicare and some of whom are not, were released Thursday.

“We … learned that relatively few have saved anything specifically for the healthcare costs they will inevitably face in retirement,” the report authors said. “As a result, many are so worried about unpredictable healthcare costs that they are spending less and curtailing their lifestyles in retirement.”

eHealth is an online private health insurance marketplace, and Retirable is a platform offering products and services related to investing, planning, spending and protecting retirement.

Sixty-three percent of respondents identified healthcare as their top retirement-related concern, whereas for 58%, the top concern was running out of money. Fifty-five percent said that concerns about healthcare costs are causing them to spend less than they would otherwise.

Despite concerns about healthcare costs, only 33% of participants who currently are retired said they had saved or are saving any money specifically to cover the healthcare expenses they might face after retiring. For those not yet retired, only 38% said they are saving or had saved money specifically to cover healthcare expenses in retirement.

Seventeen percent of all survey respondents said they are “very satisfied” with their current finances, and an additional 52% said they are “satisfied.” Yet only 42% of current retirees said they think they will have enough money to last through their retirement, and among those not yet retired, the figure was even lower: 29%. And 21% of respondents said that they do not have any money saved for retirement.

Perhaps even more worrisome is that many respondents may be underestimating the amount of money they may need in retirement. Forty-six percent of respondents calculate that they will need $2,500 to $5,000 per month to live comfortably in retirement, and an additional 24% said they will need $1,000 to $2,500. Eighteen percent said they will need $5,000 to $7,500, and 5% said they will need $7,500 to $10,000. On either end, 3% said they will need less than $1,000, and the same percentage said they will need more than $10,000.

Read more results here.