When it comes to worrying about health care costs in retirement, women win hands down.
A survey of 1,000 people age 65 and older sponsored by Allsup Medicare Advisor found that women (55 percent) are far less confident than men (70 percent) that they have saved enough money to pay for health care costs as they age.
Part of the difference in attitudes between the genders might be attributed to the longer life spans of women, who on average will live to 86, two years longer than men.
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One place where the behavior of men and women was similar was the likelihood they would discuss Medicare with their financial planners. Twenty-nine percent of women and 27 percent of men said they had held such a discussion.
"Understanding the differences in attitudes, as well as having a realistic understanding of Medicare costs and health care expenses, is one way financial advisors can further help clients when planning for retirement," Mary Dale Walters, senior vice president of Allsup, said in a statement.
Women said they were less confident than men about their retirement finances in four key areas.
Specifically, the survey found women (63 percent) were more concerned than men (59 percent) about the future of Medicare; paying for long-term care was of greater concern to women (46 percent vs. 39 percent); paying for health care in general was more of an issue for women (43 percent to 38 percent); and women were more worried about outliving their retirement funds (40 percent to 35 percent).
The survey also found that both men (just 30 percent had) and women (26 percent) had mostly failed to budget for increases in the costs of health care throughout retirement.
Allsup, which provides compliance services for individuals, employers and insurance issues concerning Social Security, veterans disability and Medicare, recommends that advisors walk clients walk through their retirement health costs. It's especially important, Allsup says, that Medicare be part of the discussion.
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