"Since 2002, Fidelity Investments has estimated what the average person starting retirement will need to pay for healthcare costs. This year, the average amount for a couple, both age 65, is $215,000, up 7.5 percent from $200,000 last year. That assumes they will not have health coverage provided by a former employer."

" On average, Fidelity anticipates health care costs will rise 7 percent a year in the foreseeable future, said Brad Kimler, Fidelity Employer Services Company senior vice president, in a conference call Tuesday. Health care inflation, he said, is due primarily to three factors: increased development of and use of new health-related technologies, advances in prescription drugs, and the aging of the workforce."

"A couple who earned $60,000 a year before retiring can expect to devote 27 percent of their Social Security benefits to health care this year, and as much as 50 percent 16 to 18 years from now, according to Fidelity's estimates."

"Medicare co-payments, deductibles, co-insurance and other cost-sharing items, which account for 35 percent"

"Kimler cautioned that the $215,000 figure is just an average. Healthcare costs in retirement depend heavily on where retirees live, their health status and their life expectancy."

"And, not insignificantly, Fidelity's estimate doesn't include the cost of long-term care, the need for which is less predictable than more general health care costs and can vary depending where you live. In Phoenix, Ariz., for instance, the cost of long-term care ranges from $27,000 a year for in-home care to $56,000 for nursing home care, according to the Met Life Institute. In Baton Rouge, La., by contrast, the range is between $17,000 and $40,000."

"When making your calculations, consider that in an earlier survey of 2,000 full-time workers and nearly 900 retirees, Fidelity found that 22 percent of current retirees said they retired early primarily for health reasons, and 39 percent of all retirees
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