Jesse Jones: How to pay for healthcare in retirement if Social Security and Medicare run out

SEATTLE, Wash. — As Americans age the worries from seniors about the longevity of Social Security and Medicare continue.

According to a survey from NerdWallet, 74 percent of those enrolled in Medicare are concerned about their benefits being cut.

And 35 percent of those under 65 believe Medicare benefits will run out before they turn that age.

So how should those worried about paying for their health care prepare for retirement?

Elizabeth Ayoola, a personal finance writer with NerdWallet says, “So what this reminds people is that they need to maybe sit down and start doing a retirement strategy and include how they’re going to fund their daily expenses and include health care and that expense.”

One of Elizabeth’s tips is to save is to start a health savings account.

“What these things do is allow people to save for health care expenses. And it also has triple tax advantages, which I appreciate.” She adds saying, “That includes, you know, the money you put in there being tax-deductible, tax-free growth. And tax-free withdrawals on qualified expenses.”

There are also other financial tools you can use to save, “Another thing people could consider if you already have an IRA, whether that be a traditional or a Roth or brokerage account, you can sock away extra money in that account, and earmark it for health care expenses in the future. And finally, if it’s right for you, you may consider long term care insurance. But overall, these may be things that you want to discuss with your financial advisor or financial expert”, Elizabeth says.

The bottom line don’t worry if you haven’t started saving. Just get going as soon as you can.

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