The Hidden Retirement Risk Advisors Can’t Ignore

Carroll Golden - Retirement Strategist

Why Healthcare Costs Deserve a Front Seat in Every Plan

Most advisors account for market risk and inflation.
But the cost that can quietly dismantle a retirement plan?
👉 Healthcare.

The average 65-year-old couple today will spend over $300,000 on healthcare during retirement—and that doesn’t include long-term care. Yet in many plans, it's treated as a line item or an afterthought.

Healthcare costs don’t stay flat. They rise with age, with frailty, with life. They also come with emotional burdens—often falling to spouses or adult children who aren’t prepared.

If you’re not planning for healthcare with specificity, clarity, and real-life projections, you’re leaving clients exposed.

✅ Medicare decisions
✅ Prescription costs
✅ Out-of-pocket surprises
✅ Long-term care realities
✅ Family caregiving dynamics

We believe this is the next frontier of great retirement planning—and it starts with a conversation.

📘 This blog builds on themes from my book, Leading in a New Retirement Era: How to Lead, Adapt, and Win in an AI-Driven World. It’s not about creating a one-size-fits-all retirement—it’s about understanding your influences, your finances, and your future so your plan is truly yours.

Disclaimer: This material does not constitute tax, legal, investment, or accounting advice and is not intended for use by a taxpayer for the purposes of avoiding any IRS penalty. Comments on taxation are based on tax law current as of the time this article was produced.