I don’t care if you’re 25 or 55 – putting money away for your retirement years is a necessity. I have compiled some figures from a Fidelity study released yesterday that I got from an article in the Boston Globe.

• A 65-year-old couple in 2008 will need, on average, $85,000 to cover insurance costs for long-term care in their retirement. Long-term care insurance refers to visits at home by a caregiver to living in a nursing home.

 

• A couple retiring in 2008 will need $225,000 in savings to cover other medical costs in retirement. This estimate covers expenses from Medicare premium payments, co-payments, and out of pocket prescription drug costs.

 

• Some employers offer long-term care coverage in their benefits package, but the cost is not generally subsidized by the employers.

 

• The average cost to stay in a private room in a nursing home is over $76,000.

 

• Because of the high cost of nursing homes, 75 percent of all long-term care is provided by a family member.

 

• Twenty-nine million Americans spend 34 hours a week providing long-term care to their family members.

 

• By 2050, the number of Americans using paid long-term care services at home, assisted living or a nursing home is expected to double from 2000 to 27 million people.

Save yourself, your kids and your grandkids the trouble and anguish and set money aside now to take care of yourself in your retirement. Think about it the same way people think about pre-paying for their funeral and burial. When the time comes, you are not going to want your children to argue and fight over the best way to care for you. Make sure the decision is yours and that you are financially ready for it.

MaineBusiness.com