Healthcare Costs in Retirement: Save Thousands with These 3 Clever Medicare Strategies

After retiring, you could notice that several of your costs begin to drop. Without a daily work commute, your spending on transportation might decrease. Additionally, once your house is fully paid for prior to retirement starting, your housing expenditures may also go down.

However, when considering expenses during retirement, healthcare is most likely to see an uptick. As we age, health problems often become more common, and you might discover that your out-of-pocket expenditures after enrolling in Medicare can be greater than what you initially expected.

Read More: Earn up to $845 cash back this year just by changing how you pay at Costco! Learn more here.

Fidelity recently provided an estimation of the potential healthcare expenses for a typical 65-year-old during their retirement. This figure stands at approximately $165,000, which may come as quite a surprise.

Additionally, it’s important to remember that this estimation doesn’t include the expenses related to long-term care. These costs can be extremely high because Medicare typically does not cover them.

The positive aspect, however, is that with the correct approach Medicare Steps you take might result in lower healthcare expenses during your retirement. Consider these three recommendations.

1. Register promptly

Your initial Medicare enrollment period spans seven months, beginning three months before the month of your 65th birthday and ending three months after that month. If you don't enroll then, you'll have an opportunity to do so during Medicare's general enrollment period, which runs from Jan. 1 through March 31 each year. But if you miss your initial enrollment period, you could get stuck with surcharges on your Medicare Part B premiums.

Specifically, you'll pay an extra 10% for Part B for life per 12-month period you were eligible for coverage but didn't sign up. You're also at risk of surcharges for Part D if you go too long without prescription drug coverage.

So once your 65th birthday gets close, carve out the time to sign up for Medicare if you don't qualify for a special enrollment period. A special enrollment period applies if, at the time of your initial enrollment period, you're covered by a qualifying group health plan of 20 or more participants.

2. Participate in open enrollment each year

Each year, Medicare runs an open enrollment period that begins on Oct. 15 and ends on Dec. 7. During that time, you can switch Part D plans for better drug coverage or move from one Medicare Advantage plan to another. You can also dump Medicare Advantage completely if you can't find a plan you're happy with and move over to original Medicare (Parts A and B plus a Part D drug plan) instead.

Some people opt to sit out open enrollment because they find the process of comparing plan choices too overwhelming. And to be fair, it can be daunting.

But if you sit out open enrollment, you could end up paying more for coverage -- either in the form of higher premiums or higher out-of-pocket costs. Neither is ideal. So before you assume you can't manage the process of comparing plans, play around with Medicare's plan finder tool to narrow down your choices. The tool lets you enter information that's specific to you, like the prescriptions you take, to identify different plans that are available in your area along with their respective costs.

3. Obtain additional insurance for coverage.

You won't qualify for a Medigap plan If you join Medicare Advantage, this might not be necessary. However, if you opt for Original Medicare instead, purchasing supplementary coverage, known as Medigap, at an earlier stage could prove quite beneficial.

A Medigap plan might assist in covering the expenses related to deductibles and coinsurance associated with your medical treatment. To illustrate, imagine you require a 65-day hospitalization within a year. You would be responsible for paying $1,632 for the initial 60 days, followed by $408 daily for the subsequent five days. However, with Medigap coverage, you may not have to bear these costs entirely on your own.

The thought of allocating $165,000 for health care during your retirement might appear daunting. However, with smart management of your Medicare enrollment, yearly participation in open enrollment, and obtaining Medigap coverage, you could discover that these expenses are quite controllable.

The $ 22,924 The Social Security benefit many seniors fail to notice.

If you’re similar to many Americans, you might be lagging several years—or even more—behind on saving for retirement. However, some lesser-known “Social Security tips” may assist in increasing your retirement earnings. For instance: one simple strategy has the potential to provide an extra $ 22,924 More every year! After mastering strategies to optimize your Social Security benefits, we believe you can retired assuredly, equipped with the serenity we all seek. Just click here to find out how you can learn more about these tactics.

Check out the "Social Security Secrets" »

The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .