Rising Cost of Health Care

Funded HRAs can provide tax-free solution
THE GROWING COST OF POST-EMPLOYMENT HEALTH CARE FOR GOVERNMENTAL EMPLOYEES

By Mark Wilkerson, CFP® and John Fulbright
HRA Consultants, A Division of VEBA Service Group, LLC
www.hraconsultants.org

It’s no secret.  Public retirees everywhere are struggling to cope with soaring health care costs.  As insurance premiums and other health-related costs consume larger and larger portions of monthly pensions, many retirees seek to become re-employed in order to make ends meet.  Meanwhile, an alarming number of employees eligible to retire cite the cost of health insurance as the reason they are job-locked and can’t afford to stop working.

These individuals sadly admit they wish they would have begun planning long ago to better prepare themselves for the significant amount of out-of-pocket health care costs they’re facing today.  These expenses can include premiums for medical, dental, vision, and tax-qualified long-term care coverage (subject to IRS limits); Medicare Part B, Medicare Part D, and Medicare supplement plan premiums; deductibles; copays for office visits and prescription drugs; and the cost of certain over-the-counter medications.

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