The latest Retirement Health Care Costs numbers from EBRI as reported by US News & Reports has been released. It’s great that attention is being directed to this issue and these costs but these numbers may be misleading;

What you will pay as a cost for Health all depends on healthy you are, where you live, what your income is and at what age you retire.

The headline to the article is “Couples Need $158,000 for Retirement Health Care Costs” but then continues to report that this number will leaves a couple with only “a 50 percent chance of having enough money to pay for all of their medical expenses throughout retirement” and in order to achieve 90% success rate retired couples should aim to save $271,000”.

But what happens if we dig deeper and personalize the case a little bit more?

Using HealthView Services’ RetireMark Software we can input information for a healthy 65 year couple who happens to reside in Ohio (the closest state to the National Average in terms of costs) and earns less than $170,000 in income annually.

Our first bit information that we receive is how long each we live, the male will have a life expectancy to 88 & the female’s is 90. We then learn that they will spend roughly $493,000 on their Health Care Costs

This amount includes paying for premiums for a Medicare Part B and D Plan along with enrolling in a MediGap Plan C policy and also covering any other costs that may arise, like dental, vision, hearing etc….. This number is also expressed in today’s dollars and is earning 0%.

If they expect a 4% rate of return on the investments earmarked for Health Care Costs throughout their retirement then they will need about $280,000 at retirement to cover these expenses
But what happens if that same couple has some unhealthy conditions along with everything else being the same?

Say like, the male has High Cholesterol and the female has Type II Diabetes.

We initially learn from Retiremark that his life expectancy drops to 85 and hers drops as well, to 82. Next, we learn that their total Health Care Costs will fall to to $314,000 (this happens due to their life expectancies being lower) and that they will need about $203,000 at retirement to cover these costs ( as long as the monies earmarked for Health Care earn 4% throughout retirement).

Now, let’s just move this couple to Florida from Ohio while having their income stay below $170K and their health revert back to being healthy.

The outcome?

The amount spent on Health Care will rise to $526,000 and they will need just over $298,000 at retirement. An increase of roughly  6.5% in total increases for what will be spent and what will be need to fund there Health Care
And if we change it up even a little bit more and have the couple earn over $214,000 while being healthy & residing in Ohio, the outcome?

They will spend $700,000 for the EXACT SAME COVERAGE throughout retirement & will need $395,000 at retirement that has to earn 4% for the rest of their lives
To repeat again, it’s great that EBRI & US News & Reports are writing about these unspoken costs retirees face but to paint a broad brush over a topic with many variables may be considered misleading.
What has to be realized is that health care costs will have an extremely wide range for retirees and these costs will be based not on only when someone wants to retire but on what their health conditions are, what their income is and alsowhere they live.

In this day in age where retirement has become so focused on the exacts that are going to be needed, like how much for food, clothing, taxes & estate why are we will still using extremely broad averages to address something so important as our own personal health?

It is a widely accepted belief that folic acid reduces a person’s risk for cardiovascular disease. This notion is so prevalent that according to the Center of Disease control and Prevention, one-third of Americans currently takes a multi-vitamin that contains folic acid. However, a recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine conclusively proves that folic acid does not prevent heart disease.

Folic acid is an artificial version of folate, which is a type of B-vitamin that has been shown to correlate with blood levels of the amino acid homocysteine, a protein that has been linked to heart disease. Doctors hypothesized that taking folic acid could ward off cardiovascular problems by lowering the amount of homocysteine in the blood. However, these conjectures had not definitively been proven.

A group of scientists from North American and the United Kingdom undertook a large-scale study that covered eight different trials consisting of 37,500 people who had, or were at risk for, cardiovascular illness. The researches gave half of the participants between .8 to 40 milligrams of folic and the other half a placebo over five years.

At the conclusion of the study, the scientists found that there was a negligible difference between the two groups' heart health. The group that was given the supplement had a 25% reduction in their homocysteine level, yet had no significant decrease in the occurrence of heart disease. The supplement group had an 11.4% rate of having a heart attack, whereas the placebo group had an 11.1% rate of occurrence. The risk of stroke hovered just above 4% for both groups. The researchers concluded that folic acid has no measurable effect on heart health.

The study’s organizers believe these results have debunked the myth of folic acid and discredited homocysteine as an accurate gage of future heart health. According to head researcher Dr. Robert Clarke, “The results are definitive and it is unlikely that any further trials will be set up to address this question.”

However, this doesn’t mean you should avoid it. Folic acid is found in green vegetables and grain products that are good for your heart and are an important part of maintaining a healthy diet. Moreover, it is beneficial for people with specific condition, especially women who are expecting, as it is vital for cell growth.

Folic acid isn’t a magic supplement that prevents heart disease. The most reliable and proven way to avoid heart attacks and stroke is to be committed to a healthy lifestyle and regularly see a physician.  

As a child, I remember my father getting up in the middle of
the night and stumbling over to the medicine chest for a large blue bottle of
white pellets. He would toss a
handful in a glass of water and hand me one to taste. The Brioschi would fizz and tingle in my mouth, and I would
often be left wondering what would possess someone to drink an entire glass of
the volcanic concoction.

Some readers may identify with my father’s symptoms: an
indescribable feeling of panic caused by an inability to swallow; a burning
sensation in chest; a chronically sore throat. These are very often the warning signs of gastroesophageal
reflux disease (GERD) or acid reflux, as it is commonly referred—a
condition that affects an estimated 60 millions Americans. Some may experience an occasional acute
episode, while others can become debilitated by the condition. There is no shortage of “cures” on the
market—from over-the-counter remedies like Tums and Pepcid to doctor-prescribed
Protonics. There are also plenty
of “secret solutions” that can be purchased online for $29.95 or so (I’ll save
you the trouble: apple cider vinegar).

While the occasional bout of heartburn may seem benign on
the surface, it is the body’s way of communicating that there is something
wrong in the digestive process; the cause is often behavioral, as poor eating
and drinking habits usually initiate or exacerbate the condition. There are literally hundreds of
websites that describe GERD and offer treatment advice, so we will spare you
from retelling what a simple Google search can yield. I will however, share with you my personal tale of how to
cope with the disease without using medication or making major dietary changes.

When I was first diagnosed after a series of tests, including
an upper GI exam, my doctor prescribed Omeprazole. Stand in any grocery line and odds are that someone waiting
to check out either uses, has used, or knows someone who is using
Omeprazole. The idea of being
unnecessarily tethered to a medication that could be eliminated with behavioral
modifications didn’t sit well with me, so I tried a host of touted cures (and
yes, bought the vinegar brochure), changed my eating patterns, and even gave
up—dare I say it—coffee. None of
them worked…

..until I met Chobani.

For those of you who are not familiar with Chobani, it is a
Greek yogurt that contains a dose of probiotics—“good” bacteria that aid in
digestion and maintaining a healthy immune system. After two years of my daily six-ounce cup, I am reflux free
and have been sick only once. Of
course, that bout occurred during a forced three-day sabbatical when my wife
forgot to buy it and I couldn’t get to the store. (We have since reconciled). It is high in protein, low in
carbohydrates, relatively inexpensive, and best of all, tastes much better than
most of the runny blobs in your local dairy aisle.

While GERD is certainly a serious condition and varies in
severity from person to person, those with a mild case may find respite in this
little miracle mousse.Combine it daily with sensible eating habits, a relatively
low-fat, high fiber diet, and exercise, and you might be able to throw away the
medications—and Brioschi—for good.