CHICAGO — A 65-year-old couple retiring in 2012 needs $220,000 to cover health-care costs the rest of their lives — or 8 percent less than in 2011, according to a new report.
Since 2002, when it first forecast retiree health-care costs, Fidelity Investments had predicted a drop just once before: 8 percent in 2011. “It means health-care inflation is below the cost of overall inflation, which doesn’t happen often,” said Sunit Patel, a benefits-consulting exec with the firm.