Paying for health care in retirement: workers' knowledge of benefits and expenses

Anecdotal evidence of retirees returning to the workforce to obtain health coverage has appeared against a backdrop of rising health insurance premiums and cutbacks in employer health benefit offerings to both current and future retirees. We present findings from a survey of workers ages forty-five to sixty-four concerning their attitudes toward and plans for health care coverage and expenses during retirement. We find a mismatch between workers' expectations about the benefits that are likely to be available to them and their planning as to how they will pay for health care in retirement.