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Here’s how to time your retirement to keep your healthcare costs down

The article provides insights into how the timing of retirement can affect healthcare costs, with a focus on strategies to reduce these expenses.

Jul 21, 2026, 4:56 PM UTCFinancial Advice1 sourceUpdated 5h ago
Affected entities:Fidelity Investments

This analysis summarizes article framing and is not investment advice or a prediction of future returns.

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Jul 21, 2026, 4:56 PM UTC Richard Eisenberg

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Plus, more ways to lower how much you pay out of pocket for medical care in retirement

You may have read that Fidelity says a 65-year-old retiring this year can expect to spend an average of $185,500 on health expenses through retirement, not including long-term-care or dental costs. That’s up 7.5% from a year ago and works out to a total of roughly $9,250 a year for someone who lives to age 85.

Something you may not know: Your out-of-pocket health costs could be dramatically higher or lower depending on when you retire.

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  • Fidelity's estimate on retirement healthcare costs
  • Impact of retirement timing on healthcare expenses

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