Retirement Mistakes for High Net Worth Investors | SafeMoney

By Brent Meyer — SafeMoney.com Founder & Editor Reviewed by Licensed Financial Professionals  |  SafeMoney.com — Trusted Since 2011  |  Updated Regularly Quick Answer: Discover key retirement mistakes high net worth investors make. Learn how to avoid them and secure your future with safe money alternatives. Editor’s Note: This is Part 1 of a two-part series on common retirement planning mistakes made by high net-worth investors and households. For more information on the retirement and financial challenges awaiting today’s investors, please consider a review of The New Retirement Report . Many investors have found this resource useful for planning out for their financial futures. With even more on the line than traditional retirees, high net-worth households need to be cautious of several all-too-common retirement mistakes that can cause a reversal of fortune. Review these threats with your retirement planning professional or advisor to ensure your plan has strategies to address—and avoid—these potentially costly pitfalls. Common Retirement Planning Mistakes by High Net-Worth Households MISTAKE #1: Not preparing for long-term care costs or later-stage healthcare needs. Have you heard this daunting statistic? A couple retiring now will need an estimated $275,000 to cover health care costs in retirement, according to a Fidelity report. This estimate only applies to those with traditional Medicare insurance coverage and includes account premiums, co-payments, deductibles and out-of-pocket drug costs. (This estimate assumes that both spouses are retiring at age 65 and will live to between 86 and 88.) What’s not included? The cost of a nursing home or any long-term care that might be needed. A substantial 70 percent of people older than 65 will need long-term care at some point in their lives, according to LongTermCare.gov, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services website. Some national average costs  for long-term care in the United States (in 2016), according to the Genworth Cost of Care Survey: $6,844 per month for a semi-private room in a nursing home $7,698 per month for a private room in a nursing home $3,628 per month for care in an assisted living facility Want to know the median cost for your state? Find out here . ACTION: Look for ways to alleviate the potential cost and tax burdens ahead of schedule. Evaluate long-term care insurance, healthy life insurance coverage with living be