Pre-retirees may underestimate health, financial challenges of retirement

Some pre-retirees worry about the anticipated cost of health care.
- A substantial minority of pre-retirees say it is very likely they will have trouble paying for health care insurance premiums (31%) or long-term care (30%). About one in four pre-retirees (27%) say it is very likely they will have trouble paying overall medical bills or paying for needed medications (24%).

Views on Medicare/Medicaid

Pre-retirees and retirees differ in their views on the future of Medicare, but neither wants a complete overhaul or major change to the program.
- Pre-retirees are less confident that Medicare will provide benefits of at least equal value to current benefits than retirees are (38% pre-retirees; 52% retirees).
- About one in three pre-retirees (33%) and retirees (36%) say that waiting two more years to receive Medicare benefits would be – or would have been – a major problem for them and their family.
- More pre-retirees than retirees want major changes in the Medicare program (47% pre-retirees; 32% retirees).

Retirees and pre-retirees say that Medicaid will have little role in paying for their long-term nursing home care if they need it.
- Very few say Medicaid will pay the majority of their costs for three months in a nursing home (10% pre-retirees; 7% of retirees).

Finances in Retirement

Pre-retirees underestimate the degree to which their finances will be worse in retirement.
- Just 22 percent of pre-retirees say their financial situation will be worse in retirement, but 35 percent of people who are already retired say it is worse.

Many retirees and pre-retirees think they don’t or won’t have the income needed to live comfortably in retirement.
- About one in four pre-retirees (27%) and one in three retirees (35%) say they won’t have the annual income they need to live comfortably in retirement.

Finances play a key role in the decision to delay or avoid retirement among pre-retirees.
- More than half of pre-retirees (54%) who are now planning to retire later than they were when they were in their 40s say the primary reason for the delay is that they do not feel they can afford it financially. Further, 51 percent of people who say that they will never fully retire say they do not feel they can afford to retire financially.
- Many people who retire may move from their current home to a new community, or reconsider the characteristics of their existing communities from a new perspective. There is widespread agreement among both groups about the top aspects of communities that help retired people stay healthy: clean air and water (88% pre-retirees; 90% retirees); low crime (86% pre-retirees; 80% retirees); access to affordable fruits and vegetables (83% pre-retirees, 79% retirees); and access to high-quality doctors and hospitals (82% pre-retirees; 84% retirees).
- Retirees and pre-retirees agree on what makes communities healthier for retired people.

Community Factors Impact Health

Retirees and pre-retirees agree on what makes communities healthier for retired people.
Many people who retire may move from their current home to a new community, or reconsider the characteristics of their existing communities from a new perspective. There is widespread agreement among both groups about the top aspects of communities that help retired people stay healthy: clean air and water (88% pre-retirees; 90% retirees); low crime (86% pre-retirees; 80% retirees); access to affordable fruits and vegetables (83% pre-retirees, 79% retirees); and access to high-quality doctors and hospitals (82% pre-retirees; 84% retirees).
Retirees and pre-retirees agree on what makes communities healthier for retired people.

The poll is part of a series developed by NPR, RWJF, and the Harvard School of Public Health. Interviews were conducted via telephone (including both landline and cell phone) July 25 to Aug. 18, 2011, among a nationally representative sample of 1,254 adults over 50. It includes 755 retirees and 409 pre-retirees (those over age 50 who have not retired, but plan to). The margin of error for total respondents is +/-3.32% at the 95 percent confidence level.

NPR is reporting on the findings and American’s deep-rooted attitudes toward retirement in a six-part series, “Life in Retirement,” on Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Stories in the series are at www.NPR.org.

Complete poll results can be found at www.rwjf.org, www.hsph.harvard.edu, and www.NPR.org.

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Pre-retirees may underestimate health, financial challenges of retirement

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