Short-term high inflation will significantly increase lifetime healthcare retirement expenses, according to a March report from healthcare cost projection software company HealthView Services.
The report said that a 65-year-old couple's lifetime healthcare costs will grow by $85,917, when assuming two years of health cost inflation at 1.5 times the consumer price index of 7.9 percent. For a 55-year-old couple, costs will grow by $160,712. For a 45-year-old couple, costs will grow by $259,808.
The 45-year-old couple is projected to spend more than $1.77 million in healthcare costs in retirement, according to the report. They are projected to spend more on their healthcare expenses than the total Social Security benefits they are expected to receive, even when accounting for cost of living adjustments. They will need 156 percent of their Social Security benefits to cover the estimated healthcare costs, the report said.
Read the full report here.