If retirement feels far off, figuring out how you'll pay for healthcare probably hasn't crossed your mind. That's a problem for future-you, right? Wrong. Future-you will still have to cover those costs — and they could be a lot bigger than you expect. So, it's worth planning for them now. According to Fidelity's 2026 Retiree Health Care Cost Estimate, a 65-year-old retiring today can expect to spend an average of $185,500 on healthcare throughout retirement. The out-of-pocket cost for a couple in retirement is $371,000! That's up 7.5% from 2025, which was up over 4% the year before. It’s safe to say the amount is not decreasing. Medicare and health insurance help — but they do not make healthcare free. Premiums, deductibles, coinsurance, prescriptions: those costs are still yours to cover. For 2026, State of Missouri retiree health insurance premiums ranged from $291 to $1,170 a month for a single subscriber — and nearly double that, $580 to $2,341, for a subscriber with a spouse — depending on years of service and plan chosen.* For some retirees, that's enough to eat up an entire pension or Social Security check. It's no surprise that in our most recent Retirement & Savings Survey, 21% of employees eligible to retire delayed retirement because healthcare premiums were too expensive — and 16% of retirees said the same. The cost of healthcare in retirement can feel overwhelming. But if you're 10, 15, or 20 years away, you have something valuable on your side: time. You can't control what healthcare will cost in the future, but you can control how prepared you’ll be. Start saving now, increase your contributions when you can, and give your money time to grow. Because the goal isn't just to retire — it's to be ready when you get there. Visit www.modeferredcomp.org to start saving or increase your contributions today.
