Retirement planning often starts with the expenses you expect, from housing and groceries to travel and everyday spending. Healthcare is harder to pin down. Costs may rise over time, and you can't really know what premiums and prescriptions may cost, what insurance will cover, or how much you'll have to pay in health insurance out-of-pocket costs. A long retirement can also bring changes in mobility or other health conditions that are difficult to anticipate and plan for.
Many Americans are feeling concerned about what healthcare may cost them in retirement. The Nationwide Retirement Institute® 2026 Healthcare Costs Survey found that 74% fear healthcare costs will go out of control in retirement, while 71% can't estimate their total lifetime retirement healthcare costs. That uncertainty may affect financial decisions well before retirement, including how much you save, whether you stay in a job to keep your health benefits, and when you decide to retire.
You may never be able to predict exactly what healthcare will cost you in retirement. But you can prepare for the possibility that those costs will change as you age. Consider asking a financial professional about Nationwide's Healthcare Cost Assessment to get a personalized estimate of your potential healthcare costs in retirement. Then revisit that estimate as your health, coverage, and needs change.
Rising healthcare costs can weaken financial confidence
Your ability to cover an unplanned healthcare cost today can have long-term consequences, particularly if they impact how much you're able to set aside for the future. You might need to dip into emergency savings, take on debt, cut back on other expenses, or reduce what you're setting aside for retirement.
Our survey shows Americans are concerned about the potential impact: 71% worry a healthcare expense could derail their plans for retirement, and 66% feel financially vulnerable to a major medical event. Yet only 27% say they're financially prepared to cover a major unexpected medical expense if one occurred tomorrow.
Consider how you would pay an unexpected $500 healthcare bill. Would you use your emergency savings? Put it on a credit card? Spend less somewhere else? More than one-third (36%) of those we surveyed said they couldn't pay off an unexpected $500 out-of-pocket healthcare expense.
Pulling money from savings or reducing retirement contributions means you could end up shortchanging your future self. In fact, 59% of Americans worry healthcare costs could delay their plans to retire or affect their ability to stay retired.
Planning for healthcare in retirement starts with estimating your potential annual expenses (within a reasonable range) and building them into your retirement budget. A financial professional can help you refine that estimate, determine how it fits with your other retirement expenses, and plan for where the money could come from if healthcare costs are higher than expected.
Medicare choices can affect your healthcare costs in retirement
Medicare creates another layer of uncertainty when it comes to budgeting for the cost of medical insurance in retirement. Because your coverage and costs will depend on the Medicare options available to you, you may not know years in advance what you'll ultimately pay. When you plan to retire matters, too: 65% of respondents to our survey said they have a plan to pay for healthcare until they're eligible for Medicare, typically at age 65. If you expect to retire earlier, you'll need to plan how you’ll pay for healthcare coverage and costs until Medicare eligibility kicks in.
Original Medicare (Parts A and B) generally cover a portion of your healthcare costs in retirement. You'll still have expenses, though, including premiums and out-of-pocket costs that Medicare doesn’t pay for. When considering your Medicare options, ask questions like: Will your doctors and prescriptions be covered? What could you afford to pay out of pocket for the care you need? How will you cover vision, dental, and prescription medications not covered by Medicare?
Those questions aren't easy to answer: 74% of those we surveyed said they wish they had a better understanding of how Medicare coverage works, while one-third (33%) reported they don't know how Medicare works to cover medical costs in retirement. Just 53% said they're confident they selected the Medicare plan that best fit their needs and budget during the most recent open enrollment period.
Medicare open enrollment is an annual opportunity to weigh your coverage options based on your healthcare needs and budget. Beyond the monthly premium, consider deductibles, copays, prescription costs, and other out-of-pocket expenses. A financial professional can help you evaluate the costs and determine how different coverage options may impact your healthcare spending in retirement.
A longer, healthier life still requires planning
Staying healthy may help you enjoy more of your retirement, but it doesn't eliminate the need to plan for healthcare costs. Even if you're healthy when you retire, you can't know what care you'll need later, how those needs may change, or what they'll cost.
A longer retirement means your savings may need to cover more years of expenses, including healthcare, increasing the risk that your money won't last as long as you do. That’s a common fear: 62% of respondents to our survey said they're worried about outliving their retirement savings.
New treatments can affect both your health and your finances. Take GLP-1 medications, for example. Among current users whose medication isn't fully covered by insurance, the average out-of-pocket cost is $203 per month. If that expense continues into retirement, it’s another recurring healthcare cost to plan for.
Consider how an ongoing prescription cost would fit with your other expenses and retirement savings. If you continued taking the medication into retirement, how would you budget for it? And if better health contributed to a longer retirement, would your current savings still support the additional years? Among the current GLP-1 users we surveyed, 64% say they may retire later because they feel healthier, while 56% say they may need more money for future healthcare if they live longer.
Explore more findings from Nationwide’s 2026 Healthcare Costs Survey.
Put your healthcare cost plan into practice
- Take stock of what you spend now. Make a list of your recurring healthcare expenses, along with costs that come up occasionally. Then consider which expenses could continue or change in retirement and leave some room in your budget for the unexpected.
- Get help estimating your costs. Ask a financial professional to help you obtain a personalized estimate of what you might spend on healthcare in retirement, including your projected average annual out-of-pocket costs. Consider how much more you might need if costs rise, you live longer than expected, or your coverage changes. Also think about how you would pay an unexpected healthcare bill without compromising other financial priorities.
- Estimate what your coverage could cost. As you approach retirement or Medicare eligibility, compare Medicare Advantage and Medicare supplement costs, including premiums, deductibles, cost-sharing, prescription coverage, and provider access.
- Keep your assumptions current. Revisit your healthcare estimates when your health, coverage, income, work status, or retirement timeline changes.
Build healthcare into your retirement plan
A longer, healthier retirement is something to look forward to—and something worth planning for. Keep in mind, retirement healthcare planning isn’t only about preparing for higher costs or unexpected care. It’s also about being financially ready if better health means enjoying more years in retirement.
Consider speaking with a financial professional and asking them to walk you through Nationwide's Healthcare Cost Assessment. The assessment provides a personalized estimate of your potential healthcare costs in retirement, including annual expenses, premiums, and other out-of-pocket costs based on where you retire and your unique health circumstances.
