Help Me Retire Podcast - Episode 22
- Mike Brown
- Jul 3
- 8 min read
Health, wealth, and the new retirement mindset
Show notes:
I’ve got some good news today... to help you cover the cost of staying healthy after you retire...
I’m also going to give you six ideas... to keep those costs under control...
And by the end of this episode... I promise I’m going to have you thinking differently... about what it means to be old...
That’s all on tap in this episode of... the Help Me Retire podcast...
This is the Help Me Retire Podcast… with your host… Mike Brown… Senior Wealth Advisor with Raymond James Financial Services… and head of Brown Family Wealth Advisors…
Mike is the best-selling author of Your Way to True Wealth: How to Make It Happen, Make It Last, and Make It Matter…
He and his team have been helping clients pursue their dreams of financial independence for the past 30 years… and in the Help Me Retire Podcast… he’ll share his best ideas with you…
And now… here’s Mike…
Let’s get you up to speed on what’s taking place right now... that could impact your retirement... now and in the future...
Do you have a health savings account? An HSA? If so... you should be glad to hear that you’ll be able to put more money into it next year...
The IRS has increased the annual contribution limit for 2026... to 44-hundred dollars for individuals... that’s 100-dollars higher than 2024... thanks to inflation...
And next year’s maximum for family plans... 8-thousand-750 dollars per year... an increase of 200-dollars...
Why are health savings accounts a good idea? Triple tax benefits... that’s why...
If you have a high-deductible health insurance plan at work... you get an upfront tax deduction for money you put into an HSA... that’s the first tax benefit...
You can then invest that money... and all the growth and income your account produces each year... is also tax-free...
And then later... say, after you retire... you can tap into your HSA to pay for qualified medical expenses... and those withdrawals are... guess what... tax-free...
That’s a nice source of tax-free income once you retire... to pay for something you’re going to have to pay for anyway...
Merrill Lynch released a survey of affluent baby boomers... between the ages of 46 and 64... and it sure looks like their planning retirements that are a lot different than their parents...
86-percent of them, for example... are planning a more active... lifestyle...
And 72-percent expect to have a higher standard of living than their parents...
But get this... 70-percent of these boomers plan to keep working... at least part-time... after they retire...
26-percent are going to take courses and further their education...
24-percent plan to learn a new trade...
And 20-percent of affluent boomers plan to either start a new business... or keep growing the one they have now...
What do you think about that?
And here’s another study that might have you re-thinking your vision of retirement...
This one... conducted at Auburn University... with some help from Washington University right here in St. Louis... looks at what keeps retirees happy... and operating at a high level...
They studied retirees over a 10-year period... and here’s what they found...
Retirees with higher levels of well-being... especially people who have a STRONG SENSE OF PURPOSE... also tend to have better cognitive functioning... and less cognitive decline as they age...
To put that in words we can all understand... the more you can maintain that sense of purpose after you retire... the more reason you have to get out of bed in the morning... the sharper you’re likely to stay mentally... and the less risk you run of getting dementia or some other form of mental decline...
We always tell our clients... if you’re going to retire... make sure you retire TO something... not just FROM something...
Program note... if you haven’t listened to our podcast series on the seven steps to a successful retirement... you should...
Especially the first one... which is Episode 12... creating your own retirement vision... you’ll get some great ideas on maintaining your own sense of purpose in retirement...
So, we’re talking in today’s episode about taking care of yourself in retirement... and that’s got to be part of your spending plan... probably a big part...
Recent data suggest today’s average 65-year-old will spend around 165-thousand dollars on medical costs in retirement... and that doesn’t even count dental expenses... and it also doesn’t include what many end up spending on long-term care...
Good news and bad news when it comes to paying for health care in retirement
Americans retiring earlier... and living longer...
That’s the good news...
Seeing 25- to 35-year retirements now...
People retiring before age 65... not eligible for Medicare yet...
Even once you are… health care is still expensive…
Especially as you get older...
Let’s talk about what you can do to keep those costs under control...
First is pretty obvious... take better care of yourself...
Exercise, eat better, make sure you get enough sleep every night...
Two… Make sure healthcare costs are addressed in your financial plan...
Probably needs to be separate goal... if for no other reason that healthcare costs typically change over time in retirement... and those costs tend to increase faster than your spending on other goals...
There are ways to estimate what health care will cost over the rest of your life... and need to make sure to plan for those expenses...
Three… Educate yourself on how Medicare works...
Medicare Part A... to pay for hospitalizations...
And Part B... which pays your doctors... and most accept it...
Part D is optional... but it covers prescription drugs...
And then there’s Medicare Advantage... Part C... which might be less expensive than traditional Medicare...
Four… If you’ve still got time before you retire…
Get as much money into a health savings account… HSA… as you can... we talked about that earlier...
Once you start Medicare… can’t contribute any longer... even if you’re still working...
Five… Think about how you’re going to pay for long-term care if you need it... expenses that aren’t part of that 165-thousand dollars that the average American will spend on health care in retirement...
At-home care… assisted living… nursing home care… are all expensive...
If your assets are high enough… might be able to self-insure...
If you choose to buy insurance to cover some or all of the long-term care expenses you might have later in life...
Hybrid life insurance policies are an option to explore...
Life insurance that can be used for long-term care if you need it...
And acts like traditional life insurance if you don’t...
These policies... much more cost-effective than traditional long-term care insurance...
Don’t forget dental care...
Can be one of the most expensive healthcare needs in retirement...
Also not included in that 165-thousand dollar figure...
And Medicare doesn’t pay for it...
Six… Finally… we need to make sure you’ve got a flexible distribution plan for your retirement assets...
Expenses aren’t going to be the same every year after you retire...
You want the ability to pull money from different sources… taxable… tax-deferred… tax-free…
That gives you and your tax advisor some latitude to take advantage of current tax laws... and manage your tax bracket over the years...
Health care is a big expense item for retirees…
Can be predictable and hard to control...
But the more you plan for it… the less it’s likely to cost…
And the less likely it will hamper your lifestyle…
And another program note... again... if you haven’t listened to our podcast series on the seven steps to a successful retirement... listen to Episode 16... where I talk about protecting yourself in retirement...
Protect your wealth... protect your health... as we’re talking today... and protecting your identity...
I think you’ll get some good ideas in Episode 16... actually the whole series...
I read a news story the other day... that I just knew couldn’t be true... until I researched it...
A man named Harrison Ruffin Tyler... died on May 25, 2025... at the age of 96...
You’ve probably never heard of Harrison Ruffin Tyler... I hadn’t either... but you might know his grandfather... John Tyler... the tenth president of the United States...
You heard me right... the last living grandson of John Tyler... who was president in the 1840s... just died...
And while I was confirming that fact... I ran across another bit of presidential trivia...
Can you name the first U-S president... to be born in a hospital? Think about it... the first president to be born in a hospital...
And understand that hospitals have been delivering babies in the U-S since the early 1800s...
But the first president to be born in one... was Jimmy Carter... who also left us just a few short months ago...
All of which got me to looking at some other interesting connections between age and accomplishment...
I’d have to start with my mother... who raised three kids while working full-time as a registered nurse... All three of us attended mom’s college graduation... at the age of 59...
John Pemberton was an obscure pharmacist looking for a headache cure when he found one at age 55... It’s now called Coca-Cola...
We all know that Warren Buffett is one of the richest people in the world... When he turned age 94 last year... his net worth was estimated to be near 150-billion dollars...
But here’s what’s fascinating... 98% of his wealth came after age 65...
Ben Franklin was 70-years old when he signed the Declaration of Independence... and it was after that that he wrote his famous autobiography... negotiated the Treaty of Paris... and established charitable trusts in Boston and Philadelphia that support worthy causes in those two cities... to this day...
Frank Lloyd Wright’s best designs came after age 70...
They didn’t let Nelson Mandela out of prison until he was 71...
He was 75 when they elected him South Africa’s first black president...
And Grandma Moses didn’t pick up a paintbrush until age 76... when arthritis made her stop doing needlework...
So, maybe you’re retired... or you’re approaching retirement age... and you’re thinking, man... I’m getting old... I’m over the hill...
Let me in on a secret I learned from some of the people we’ve been working with for the last four decades...
You’re not over the hill... because there IS no hill...
You don’t work all your life climbing this mountain... then retire and start coasting down the other side...
That’s not the way it works... not if you decide otherwise...
People used to live ‘til age 65... now, 65-year-olds are taking care of their parents...
Instead of thinking of retirement as the end of your life... think of it... as the very TOP of your life... the highest plain...
You’re at the top of the mountain... and you can stay here the rest of your life... so it’s permanent...
You can start coasting if you choose to... that’s your call...
Or you can start things you may never finish... learn things you may never use... build things you’ll never complete...
So, don’t think of retirement simply as the time you stop working... For a lot of very successful people... many of whom we have the honor of serving... it’s just the start... of something even better...
See you at the top...
Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC.
Investment advisory services are offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc. Brown Family Wealth Advisors is not a registered broker/dealer and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services.
Any opinions are those of Mike Brown and Brown Family Wealth Advisors and not necessarily those of Raymond James. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation. There is no guarantee that these statements or opinions will prove to be correct. Investing involves risk, and you may incur a profit or a loss regardless of the strategy selected. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Prior to making an investment decision, please consult with your financial advisor about your individual situation.
