Americans More Worried about Covering Medical Bills in Retirement

Data from the 2009 Retirement Confidence Survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute found 25% of respondents are very confident of their ability to pay their retirement health bills—the lowest since the 26% seen in 1992. However, close to half (46%) of Americans are “somewhat confident.”

In 2008, 36% of Americans were “very confident” and 34% were “somewhat confident.”

Meanwhile, retirees’ confidence in their ability to pay for long-term care (15%) is the lowest ever measured by the annual survey, down significantly from a high in 2007 (27%).

Percentage of Retirees Very or Somewhat Confident about Health-Related Expenses in Retirement

You will have enough money to take care of medical expenses during retirement

 Very confident 26% 30% 34% 36% 34% 42% 41% 36% 25%

 Somewhat confident 32 31 34 36 39 32 36 34 46

You have enough money to pay for long-term care during retirement

Very confident — — — 30 23 22 27 24 15

Somewhat confident — — — 23 30 33 33 24 29

Source: Employee Benefit Research Institute and Mathew Greenwald & Associates, Inc., 1992–2009 Retirement Confidence Surveys.