How much will health care cost in retirement?

Fidelity's 2026 Retiree Health Care Cost Estimate says a 65-year-old individual may need $185,500 in after-tax savings to cover health care in retirement. It counts Part B premiums, Part A and B deductibles and coinsurance, Part D premiums and drug costs, and some services original Medicare does not cover. It assumes a single person retiring at 65 in 2025, eligible for original Medicare, with no employer retiree coverage.

The fixed pieces are public. In 2026 the standard Part B premium is $202.90 a month, up from $185.00 in 2025. The Part B deductible is $283, and the Part A hospital deductible is $1,736 per benefit period.

Worked example: a married couple both on Part B pays $202.90 x 12 x 2 = $4,869.60 a year in Part B premiums alone, before drug coverage, supplemental coverage, deductibles and dental. If each spouse matched Fidelity's estimate, the pair would need about $371,000 over retirement.

Real spending data points the same way. Households headed by someone 65 or older spent an average of $7,799 on health care in 2024, according to the BLS Consumer Expenditure Surveys.

What the headline number misses: it excludes long-term care, most dental and over-the-counter drugs. It is also an average. Your cost depends on your health, where you live, how long you live, and whether your income pushes you into higher Medicare premiums.