Affluent 'Terrified' of Healthcare Costs as They Near Retirement, Survey Says

A poll from the Nationwide Retirement Institute found wealthy Americans approaching retirement are "terrified" about the cost of healthcare, but they are not talking about it with financial advisers, reports Financial Advisor . Almost 75 percent of U.S. adults with $150,000 or more in annual income and older than 50 cited "out-of-control" healthcare costs as a top concern, but 48 percent with advisers were not discussing such costs with them. "More than half of respondents were unaware of what their healthcare costs would be moving forward," says Nationwide's John Carter. Respondents were more often avoiding healthcare discussions because they felt it was too personal an issue, while 33 percent had not had a dialogue with anyone about their medical expenses. However, 38 percent of respondents who had engaged with an adviser said they did not discuss such costs because their adviser did not know enough about those expenses in retirement, suggesting advisers may be missing both a key planning topic and an opportunity to deliver more value for customers. "I think we have to help consumers ask better questions of their advisers, like 'how much should I expect to pay in healthcare expenses in retirement?' — it's simple and specific to healthcare, and then the adviser can discuss some ways to save for healthcare to meet that need," Carter notes. Furthermore, wealthy Americans are highly likely to consider federal entitlement programs to help cover healthcare costs, while 59 percent of survey respondents were unsure what their annual healthcare costs might be; the remaining respondents calculated $22,849 in yearly healthcare expenses for themselves and their partners.