EBRI Estimates up to $240K Cost for Health Care in Retirement

Retirees will need a significant amount of savings to cover their out-of-pocket health expenses, according to a new report released by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

EBRI found that men retiring this year (2010) at age 65 will need anywhere from $65,000–$109,000 in savings to cover health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket expenses in retirement if they want a 50–50 chance of being able to have enough money; to improve the odds to 90%, they’ll need between $124,000–$211,000. Women retiring this year at age 65 will need even more – between $88,000–$146,000 in savings if they are comfortable with a 50% chance of having enough money, and $143,000–$242,000 if they want a 90% chance.  

These estimates are for Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older: Anyone retiring early, before age 65, would need even more, EBRI noted in a press release.  

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The needed savings for men retiring in 2020 range from $111,000 to $354,000, while needed savings for women range from $147,000 to $406,000 (in 2020 dollars), depending on their source of health insurance coverage to supplement Medicare, any employer subsidies, prescription drug use, and their savings goal related to their comfort level with having a 50%, 75%, or 90% chance of having enough savings to cover health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket health care expenses in retirement.  

The full report is titled “Funding Savings Needed for Health Expenses for Persons Eligible for Medicare,” and is published in the December 2010 EBRI Issue Brief at http://www.ebri.org.

Falcon Named JPAM Retirement Chief

J.P. Morgan Asset Management hired Michael Falcon as Managing Director and Head of Retirement in the U.S. and Canada.

A news release said Falcon will be based in New York at the firm’s headquarters and will report to George Gatch, Chief Executive Officer of J.P. Morgan Investment Management Americas. Pam Popp, CEO of Retirement Plan Solutions, and David Musto, Managing Director, DC Investment Solutions, will report to Falcon (see “J.P. Morgan Asset Management Realigns DCIO Teams“). 

Falcon has 25 years of experience in personal finance, investments, banking and consumer products. Most recently, Falcon has been managing a financial media and consulting firm founded by NBC’s Today financial editor, Jean Chatzky, as well as serving Knowledgent Group and BrightScope.com as a senior adviser, according to the announcement.

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Between 2000 and 2008, Falcon was a senior executive in Merrill Lynch’s Wealth Management business, where he ran the retirement group, providing 401(k), DB, NQDC, IRA, 529, Equity Award and Retirement Planning solutions to corporations, individuals and financial advisers.  He began his career at The Chase Manhattan Bank in 1985 and later spent 11 years with Sara Lee Corporation in Chicago, Paris and North Carolina.

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